Telefónica is to float its infrastructure asset spin-off Telxius before the end of the year.
The Spain-based operator said it would remain the majority shareholder in the business that it created in February.
The shares will list on the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia stock exchanges, Telefónica said, as well as on the Spanish electronic trading system.
Telxius oversees 16,000 telecommunication towers in Spain, Germany, Brazil, Peru and Chile, as well as a 31,000km submarine fibre optic cable network.
The company, which is looking to profit from consumers’ continuing thirst for data, provides co-location services via its towers and wholesale connectivity over its cable assets to other telcos and service providers.
It had revenues of €691 million for the 2015 calendar year and is run by the former CEO of Telefónica Brazil.
Another Spain-based company, Cellnex, acquired 230 mobile towers from France’s Bouygues Telecom in July.
Telecom Italia floated its wireless infrastructure business INWIT last year.
Bouygues, Telecom Italia and Telefónica are looking to fund investment in other areas of their businesses and to reduce costs by decentralising or outsourcing control of their infrastructure.
Last month, Telefónica’s German subsidiary signed up Nokia to manage its fixed and mobile network operations.
“Telxius has a balanced business, with high quality assets exposed to developed markets and emerging economies, both with strong growth in data demand,” Telefónica said in a statement.
Source: http://www.eurocomms.com/industry-news/11781-telefonica-to-float-infrastructure-arm-telxius