There are not only thorns in the basket of shareholdings of the Benetton family. The stock market rebound of Atlantia, following the glimmers that have opened up in the tug of war with the Government on the revocation or otherwise of the motorway concessions, is not able to compensate for the enormous damage to the image and the consequent economic damage caused by the incredible collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa. Few satisfactions from the Stock Exchange, in this first part of the year, also come from the other investees of the Benettons listed on the Stock Exchange: despite being very solid stocks, for now both Rest and Mediobanca e Generali are in red, thanks to the turbulence affecting all stock lists and also the Milan Stock Exchange.
The good news for the Venetian family and their holding company Edition instead they come from Spain, where Cellnex Telecom, now queen of Europe of telecommunications towers through acquisitions, continues its unstoppable growth and also reaps acclaim at the Madrid Stock Exchangewhere it is listed. After last year's exploit, when the value of the share nearly doubled, gaining 95%, this year too Cellnex Telecom is meeting with the favors of the market: since the beginning of 2020 it has increased by 19,4% and capitalizes now 17,4 billion euros, placing it firmly in fifth place in the ranking of the telecom capitalization of the Old Continent, preceded only by Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Telefonica and Orange. Last week, Cellnex was one of the best stocks in Europe and also yesterday it closed the session of the Madrid Bolsa with a sharp rise. But it's no wonder, because the performance of the Stock Exchange corresponds to the growth that the company inherited from the Benettons on the occasion of the Abertis operation has achieved in recent years and in particular in recent months. In Cellnex Telecom, the Benetton Edition is one of the reference shareholders through connect, which has a 29,9% stake in the tower company, alongside Criteria Caixa, BlackRock, Wellington Management Group and Canada Pension Plan with minority stakes.
With the latest acquisition at the start of the year in Portugal, where took over Omtel, Cellnex Telecom has consolidated its European leadership with a park of over 46 towers and a significant presence in all the main countries of the Old Continent, except in Germany, with activities that unfold in four areas: services for telecommunications infrastructures, audiovisual broadcasting networks, security and emergency network services and management solutions intelligent infrastructure and urban services (smart cities and the Internet of Things).
Cellnex Telecom is obviously very active in Spain, where it has two offices in Barcelona and Madrid, but also in Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy. In our country The Spanish company manages over 10 towers and over 2.000 multi-system and multi-operator nodes (DAS and Small Class), including those of the Milan and Brescia metro, the Hadid Tower, the Unicredit Tower, the Bosco Verticale, skyscrapers of Varesine, the Palazzo della Regione Lombardia and the Pirellone, the San Siro Stadium, Piazza Duomo, Piazza Gae Aulenti, Corso Como and the Niguarda Hospital in Milan as well as the Northern Railways, Malpensa Airport and of the Juventus Stadium in Turin. Last September it signed an agreement to cover the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome with a DAS system.
The activity of is particularly effervescent Cellnex Telecom it was in the second part of 2019, which also coincided with the arrival of the independent president Franco Bernabè alongside the CEO Tobias Martinez Gimeno. In reality, the Spanish tower company is seizing all the purchasing opportunities that the difficulties of the old Telecoms and their need to sell assets can offer.
Before the incursion of Portugal, Cellnex Telecom went shopping in Great Britain (Arqiva) with an operation financed by a specific capital increase of 1,2 billion euros and closed an agreement with Iliad for the management of the towers in France , Switzerland and Italy. For the first time in 2019, Cellnex's revenues reached one billion euros but its growth, despite being impetuous, was and is very prudent in terms of the corporate financial statements (which will be presented on 26 February) and, moreover, the rigor di Bernabè, as evidenced by his performances first at ENI and then at Telecom Italia, is well known in the international financial community. The Stock Exchange applauds and the Benettons breathe a sigh of relief.
