Tele2 Creates Baltics Tower Joint Venture

Tele2 agreed to a partnership on towers, which it believes is the first to cover all Baltic countries under one umbrella. The operator group agreed to a 50:50 partnership with Global Communications Infrastructure (GCI), a specialist backed by established financial player Manulife Investment Management.

The resulting tower company is valued at around €560 million on a debt-free basis. Tele2 expects to net cash proceeds in the range of €440 million. The companies intend to headquarter the Baltics company in Lithuania, with the business owning tower and rooftop assets spanning around 2,700 sites there, and in Estonia and Latvia. Tele2 will be an anchor tenant under the terms of an agreement spanning 20 years.

Tele2 president and CEO Jean Marc Harion said it chose GCI because it brings capital and expertise, which will enable the operator to create additional value from its current assets. There is also a ten-year plan to build new sites to expand and improve network coverage. Tele2 expects to book a negative underlying EBITDAaL hit of €35 million in 2026. The companies anticipate regulatory processes to be complete by early 2026.