Virgin Media O2 has confirmed plans to sell an 8.33 percent stake in its tower JV, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (CTIL), to infrastructure investor Equitix for around £186 million ($241m).
The transaction involves the telco selling a 16.6 percent stake in a holding company that indirectly owns 50 percent of CTIL.
Confirmation of the planned sale comes a month after the Financial Times reported a potential sale was on the cards.
Cornerstone is the UK's largest tower infrastructure company, with 20,000 masts across rural and urban locations. The company has committed to expanding this with a further 1,200 new sites by 2025.
Virgin Media O2, owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica after a merger between Virgin Media and O2 in 2021, owns half of Cornerstone, which maintains and operates its mobile infrastructure in the UK.
The other half of the tower firm is owned by Vodafone-backed Vantage Towers. Both Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone use the sites.
“This additional minority stake sale follows the same logic and strategic rationale as our previous deal, allowing us to successfully monetize our infrastructure while retaining a controlling share in an important asset," said Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2.
"Equitix is another strong partner to have onboard that clearly sees the long-term value in Cornerstone at a time when we are investing billions of pounds to enhance 4G coverage and bring 5G to new areas of the country.”
Achal Bhuwania, CIO of Equitix, added: "As the UK’s largest telecom tower portfolio, Cornerstone provides infrastructure services that are vital for nationwide connectivity. This investment demonstrates our continued commitment to invest in critical national infrastructure which is central to our mandate to invest in core infrastructure.”
Last year, Virgin Media O2 agreed to sell a 16.7 percent stake in CTIL to GLIL Infrastructure LLP for £360 million ($467m).
Once the deal is completed, Virgin Media O2 will still retain a 25.01 percent stake in Cornerstone.
Separately this week, Virgin Media O2 reported that its revenue dropped 2.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) for Q3 to £2.7 billion ($3.51bn), blaming a decline in handset revenue.
The company also revealed that it has so far invested £1.5 billion ($1.95bn) into its 5G and fiber network build out this year.