Deutsche Telekom Divests 51% Stake In GD Towers To DigitalBridge & Brookfield

German telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom AG DTEGY, revealed the sale of a 51% ownership stake in GD Towers, comprising its tower business in Germany and Austria, to a consortium of Canada's Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP BIP and DigitalBridge Group, Inc. DBRG affiliated funds.
The transaction values GD Towers at €17.5 billion, or $17.5 billion, on a consolidated basis, including the assumption of net debt.
The German telecom giant will keep the remaining 49% stake, and the deal is expected to close towards the end of this year.
GD Towers has around 800 employees and operates more than 40,000 sites in Germany and Austria.
The transaction is expected to reduce Deutsche Telekom's financial leverage by €10.7 billion and net debt including leases by €6.5 billion.
Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, said, "At the same time the deal allows us to continue improving Deutsche Telekom's undisputed network leadership in Germany and benefit from further value upside of the towers business through our retained 49 percent stake."
Price Action: DTEGY shares closed 0.10% higher at $19.38 on Wednesday.
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