Cellnex and Bouygues Telecom have agreed to create a joint venture that will deploy and operate a fibre network connecting infrastructure equipment across France. Bouygues Telecom will own 49 percent of the new company, with Cellnex holding 51 percent and 100 percent of economic rights. The JV will invest EUR 1 billion by 2027 to roll out up to 31,500 km of fibre linking infrastructure sites including mobile masts, central offices and edge computing centres. The agreement also covers the construction of 90 new data processing centres, referred to as metropolitan offices, to house edge computing facilities.
By the end of the planned deployment, the new company should generate EUR 80 million worth of EBITDA. More than 80 percent of its revenues are expected to come from services delivered to Bouygues Telecom under a long-term contract (30+5 years). The planned investments will mainly be financed by Cellnex, using a range of mechanisms and with cash flow generated by the JV. Thanks to this new deal, the backlog of future sales contracted by the Spanish operator will grow by EUR 4 billion to total EUR 44 billion.
Last week, Bouygues Telecom had revealed some details of the joint venture as part of its financial results. It has already an established relationship with Cellnex with several major deals signed in recent years. Across 2016 and 2017, Cellnex agreed to acquire a portfolio of existing mobile cell sites and committed to build additional towers, with Bouygues Telecom becoming the anchor tenant for the infrastructure. In 2018, it announced a new agreement with the French operator to build 88 telecommunications centres in France over 5 years.
