(Adds details, background)
LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Vantage Towers, the mobile
infrastructure company spun out of Vodafone Group, on
Wednesday announced its intention to float on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange by the end of March.
Vantage operates about 82,000 towers across 10 countries,
where it is usually the leading or second largest supplier.
Vodafone said it would sell a "meaningful minority" to
create a liquid market in Vantage Towers' shares. No newly
created shares will be on offer, meaning Vantage will not reap
proceeds from the deal.
The company did not disclose how many shares will be
offered, but people familiar with the matter said earlier this
month, that stock worth about 3 billion euros ($3.65 billion)
would be sold.
Vantage said late last year that it expects to report pro
forma adjusted core earnings of up to 540 million euros in the
financial year to the end of March 2021.
Rival telecom mast companies such as Cellnex,
American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA
Communications trade at 25 to 30 times their core
earnings, which would imply a valuation of 13.5 billion to 16
billion euros for Vantage.
($1 = 0.8226 euros)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle and Arno Schuetze; editing by Sarah
Young and Louise Heavens)
Vodafone (VOD)
