Allens has advised a consortium comprising Northleaf Capital Partners and InfraRed Capital Partners on their investment in Vodafone NZ's passive mobile network TowerCo.
The consortium acquired an 80 per cent equity interest in the network for a combined NZ$1.7 billion (with Infratil retaining a 20 per cent interest). The deal will create New Zealand's largest independent tower company, with 1,484 towers covering 98% of New Zealand's population.
'We are pleased to have advised Northleaf and InfraRed on this investment in digital infrastructure across New Zealand, a sector experiencing high M&A activity,' said lead Partner Mark Malinas.
'It's been a big 24 months for telecommunications assets, and we're expected to see fibre follow suit. We're grateful for the opportunity to bring together our market-leading M&A, telecoms, projects and finance offerings for our clients in this space,' said Partner & Head of Projects David Donnelly.
Allens has played a lead role in every recent tower transaction, including advising TPG on the sale of its passive mobile tower and rooftop infrastructure assets, AustralianSuper and ATN on the acquisition of Axicom, AustralianSuper on its acquisition of a 70 per cent stake in ATN, and the Morrison & Co managed consortium on the acquisition of a 49 per cent interest in Ampitel.
Allens teamed with Chapman Tripp in New Zealand.
