Deutsche Telekom to sell tower business to N. American consortium – Handelsblatt

Brochures with the logo of Deutsche Telekom AG are pictured at the shop in the headquarters of German telecommunications giant in Bonn, Germany, February 19, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/

BERLIN, July 13 (Reuters) – Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) aims to decide on the sale of its tower business on Wednesday, and a surprise bid by a consortium of Canada’s Brookfield and private equity group Digital Bridge is internally seen as the winner, daily Handelsblatt said on Wednesday.

The paper cited three people familiar with the sales process.

The consortium was expected to acquire a majority stake in the tower business, the paper said, citing financial and company sources.

Deutsche Telekom declined comment on the report. The deal is expected to help the German telecoms giant raise enough funds to cut its debt while keeping some exposure to key infrastructure.

A representative for Digital Bridge didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sales process, which kicked off in March, has seen strategic bidders and infrastructure funds compete for a stake in the masts unit known as Deutsche Funkturm GmbH (DFMG).

Earlier Wednesday, Spain’s Cellnex (CLNX.MC) said it was withdrawing its offer for a stake in the towers business. read more

Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, Tom Sims, Editing by Miranda Murray

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