Vodafone is to create a European mobile mast company which it says could potentially float on the stock market.
Over the next 18 months the world’s second largest mobile operator plans to separate its mobile mast infrastructure in 10 European markets into a new organisation named TowerCo.
Scheduled to be operational by May 2020, it said the new company would manage 61,700 towers with potential annual revenue and EBITDA of around €1.7bn and €900m, unlocking value for shareholders.
Vodafone also announced a fall in group revenue of €200 million (€10.7 billion) for the quarter ended 30th June due to the foreign exchange rate, a result which it said was ‘better than expected’.
“Building on our position as Europe’s largest converged operator, we are now creating Europe’s largest tower company,” said Vodafone CEO Nick Read.
“Given the scale and quality of our infrastructure, we believe there is a substantial opportunity to unlock value for shareholders while capturing the significant industrial benefits of network sharing for the digital society.
“We are focused on executing this strategic priority over the next 18 months.”
Vodafone said the move would help accelerate the rollout of next-generation 5G mobile technology and also reduce group debt.