PIF joins consortium to buy share of Vodafone towers in Europe: Paper

Logo of Public Investment Fund (PIF)

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is helping bankroll what is set to be the winning bid for a stake in Vodafone’s €14.8 billion towers business, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.

The bid is led by private equity groups, KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the sources said, adding that the consortium is on course to buy into one of the largest tower businesses in Europe, beating competition from Spain’s Cellnex.

Vodafone has been seeking to sell a stake in its masts business for many months after spinning out the unit early last year. The company operates 83,000 towers across 10 European countries, including the UK. Vodafone currently owns 82% of the operation.

KKR and GIP are set to invest more than PIF in the deal, the sources said. It is expected to be announced this week but could yet fall through, they added.

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