Optus parent company sells 70% stake in tower business for AU$1.9 billion to AustralianSuper. Super funds continue their run of picking up Australian telco assets
Optus’ parent company Singtel sold its 70% stake in the Australian company Australia Tower Network (ATN) to AustralianSuper for AU $ 1.9 billion.
The contract will cover 2,312 towers and rooftop locations, and Optus will sign a long-term lease agreement with ATN, as well as being the main tenant of 565 locations to be built over the next three years as part of the 5G deployment. The initial lease term is 20 years with options for later.
“The sale of these assets places Optus in a favorable position for the future as it provides capital to support the growth of the core business, while allowing us to maintain the competitive advantage of the active elements of our network that continue to outperform independent speed reports. and the quality of our network, “Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said.
“There has been strong interest from a competitive field of high quality prospective buyers and we are pleased with the outcome of the sales process. We look forward to a successful future partnership with Aussie Super, a legendary Australian infrastructure investor.”
The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of October.
Telstra recently sold a 49% stake in its InfraCo Towers business for A $ 2.8 billion after being approached by a consortium including the Future Fund, the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation and Sunsuper. This company, now called Amplitel, has 8,200 towers across Australia.
In June, Aware Super, along with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets collected Vocus for AU $ 3.5 billion.
Updated at 11:50 AEST, October 1: Clarified Singtel is selling Towers and not Optus as originally reported.
