All set for listing of Vantage Towers, la vodafone towers company which will land in Frankfurt "around 18 March" at the conclusion of the institutional placement phase which will end on 17 March. The numbers revealed so far leave no doubt: it will be the biggest IPO of the year in Europe and the largest placement for the TLC sector since 2014.
On Wednesday 9 March, the British telephony giant fixed the IPO price range which will be between 22,5 and 29 euros per share. Overall, Vodafone will put on the market a share of between 19 and 25% of the capital, aiming to raise up to 2,8 billion euros for a capitalization that will be between 11,4 and 14,7 billion euros, figures in both cases much lower than the 20 billion expected last year, when the idea of listing on the Stock Exchange began to circulate. The proceeds, as announced, will be used to repay the debts of the parent company.
There are plenty of buyers a few days after the listing. Digital Colony and RRJ, two investment funds, have already agreed to buy respectively 500 million euros and 450 million euros of the 88,9 million shares on offer.
With the landing on the Stock Exchange, Vantage Towers, which has 82 towers located in 10 markets (including the Inwit joint ventures with Tim and Cornerstone in the UK), will therefore become the pmain competitor of Spanish Cellnex which currently holds the leadership in the European tower market. A market that has experienced great turmoil in recent months, with consolidation operations and possible mergers in view of the large-scale adoption of 5G.
Let's remember that in the first nine months of the 2020-21 financial year (which closes in March) the adjusted ebitda of Vantage is equal to 394 million (513 million in the pro forma of the 2019-20 financial year) for a margin adjusted ebitda of 54%, while the aggregate adjusted ebitda of 2019-20 and ' was 730 million. The dividend policy provides for the distribution of 60% of the recurring free cash flow, also including the dividends deriving from the joint ventures, and the first coupon will be paid in July 2021 for a total amount of 280 million euros. In the medium term, the tower company aims for "mid-single digit" revenue growth, as a compound annual average, and an EBITDA margin with a percentage between 55% and 59%, while the guidance for the average annual growth of recurring free cash flow is “mid-to-high single digit” (5%-9%). The financial leverage target (as the ratio between net financial debt and EBITDA) is 4x.
on the London Stock Exchange, Vodafone gains 0,13%, while the rally continues in Milan Inwit: after the +5,6% recorded in Monday's session and the +3,3% yesterday, the stock rose by 1,25% to 8,935 euros. In Madrid, Cellnex instead, it rose by 1,7% to 42,47 euros.
