Asterion Industrial Partners today announced an agreement to acquire Axión from AMP Capital for €200m, equating to €314k per tower. Axión is the fifth largest tower owner in Spain, with 635 towers, following Telxius, Vodafone, Cellnex, and Orange.
Since 2016, the company was majority owned by AMP Capital, an infrastructure fund based in Sydney, Australia. AMP Capital had previously acquired Axión from Antin Infrastructure Partners for €169m, in August 2016, which represented an EBITDA multiple of ~10x and €290k per tower.
Axión provides broadcasting, transport, site hosting and operation and maintenance services to the radio, regional television, and telecommunications sectors. Axión currently manages more than 5,000 service points throughout Spain, across 635 towers, of which ~75% are in the region of Andalucía.
Asterion will combine the towers acquired from Axión with its portfolio company Lineox. Specifically, the combination of Lineox and Axión allows Asterion to create an end-to-end connectivity offering. In turn, Asterion will be able to offer its customers new services tied to the growth of 5G and the Internet of Things.
Axent Fiber Joint Venture
In 2018, Axión expanded into the fiber segment through a joint venture called Axent, with Enagás, a Spanish energy company. Through this fiber joint venture, the companies develop and commercialize their joint radio and dark fiber infrastructure. Overall, Axent has over 2,800 fiber route miles across Spain.
In terms of operations, Axent provides wholesale telecommunications transport services on fiber and radio platforms. Over the past two years, Axent has expanded its fiber network and signed clients including three large hyperscale customers.
Additionally, under AMP Capital’s ownership, Axión has grown in towers and beyond:
- Extending the lease contract tenor of Axión towers
- Delivering 35 new build-to-suit (BTS) towers. Axión also has a further pipeline of 148 BTS towers to build, under the ownership of Asterion
- Expanding into the Internet of Things (IoT) and Distributed Antenna System (DAS) businesses
- Partnering with UK tower company Wireless Infrastructure Group to form a new venture called Iberia Small Cells Network. The joint venture provides neutral host services to venues in Spain and Portugal
Transaction Advisors – AMP and Asterion
AMP Capital’s advisors were Greenhill & Co, Allen & Overy, Arthur D Little and KPMG, on the sale of Axión towers. Additionally, Asterion Industrial Partners’ advisors were Herbert Smith Freehills, Alvarez & Marsal, Analysys Mason and Deloitte, on the purchase of Axión towers.
