KfW IPEX-Bank finances European mobile communications infrastructure

KfW IPEX-Bank has signed a loan agreement to support KKR & Co. Inc. in acquisition of German mobile communications sites through the Spanish Telxius Telecom S.A. KfW IPEX-Bank provided EUR 45 million as part of total financing for the share of the purchase price to be paid by KKR and the refinancing of the existing credit facility. The financing is being implemented in a consortium with European banks. KKR holds a stake in Telxius, which will be strengthened by the underlying investment and associated financing. The transaction for the mobile communications project also supports mobile broadband coverage for 5G rollout in Germany, strengthening KfW IPEX-Bank’s activities in the digitalisation and innovation sector.

Telxius Telecom S.A. is a telecommunications infrastructure company in the Spanish group Telefónica. It operates a cable network and mobile phone towers in Spain, Germany and Latin America. Telxius is planning to acquire mobile telephony sites of Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG valued at approximately EUR 1.5 billion. A purchase agreement to this effect was concluded in June 2020, covering around 10,100 mobile communications sites and the development of another 2,400 sites in Germany. With this move, Telxius is expanding its presence in Germany, the largest market in Europe.

With this financing, KfW IPEX-Bank continues to support the expansion of digital infrastructure, this being one of its priority areas. Telecoms towers are connected to the worldwide fibre optic cable network and represent the fundament of mobile communication.