Telefonica sold a further 15 per cent of its Telxius infrastructure unit to US investment firm KKR for €485 million, taking the US company’s share of the business to 40 per cent.
The deal follows the sale of 25 per cent of the business to KKR in October, when the option to acquire an additional 15 per cent was also agreed.
In a statement, Telefonica said the transaction was part of its strategy to reduce debt.
Following the completion of the stake transfer – expected in December – Telefonica will maintain a controlling stake in the business.
Telxius was created in 2016 as a separate entity containing many of Telefonica’s infrastructure assets around the world. The unit controls more than 15,000 telecoms towers and an international network of 31,000km of submarine fibre optic cables, including a link connecting the US to Central and South America.
The move is part of a wider trend seen across several markets where operators are selling shares, or all of, infrastructure units to raise cash to either invest in new technologies or reduce debt.
Earlier this week, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular struck a $1.2 billion deal with investment company American Tower to sell tower assets, while in October MENA group Zain announced plans to accelerate the sale and lease back of its towers to reroute funds into new technology development.