EU clears sale of VodafoneZiggo masts
The €669 million sale of the Dutch mast operations can be completed as planned, according to the company.
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The European Commission has approved the sale of VodafoneZiggo’s passive mast operations. The transaction is worth €669 million, with the proceeds intended to help reduce Ziggo Group’s debt.
The European Commission published a decision on Tuesday concerning the proposed joint acquisition of VodafoneZiggo’s Dutch antenna sites. This marks an important competition-law step for the transaction announced in September.
The deal concerns passive infrastructure: the masts, sites and other physical facilities on which telecoms companies install their active equipment. VodafoneZiggo is selling the infrastructure but will continue to use the masts as a tenant. For customers, the sale therefore does not automatically mean a change to mobile services or subscriptions.
The buyer will be an undertaking jointly controlled by funds managed by DigitalBridge, TD Greystone Infrastructure and L&G. The new owner intends to connect the Dutch sites to Belgium Tower Partners’ infrastructure. This is intended to create a network of more than 6,600 sites in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Liberty Global, the parent company behind VodafoneZiggo, has said that the proceeds will be used to repay debt within Ziggo Group. The group comprises VodafoneZiggo and Belgium’s Telenet. Liberty Global is also working on a stock-market listing of the new company in Amsterdam, which is expected to take place around the middle of 2027.
The sale was still described as conditional in September and had to be submitted to regulators, among others. According to Telecompaper, the European decision puts the transaction on course for completion by the end of 2026. The European approval in itself says nothing about the eventual stock-market listing or the financial performance of the new group.
The sale is part of a broader trend in which telecoms companies are divesting their masts to specialist infrastructure investors. This frees up money for providers and allows them to focus more on services and networks, while the new owners receive income from long-term rental contracts. For the market, how such independent mast companies organise access, rents and investment remains important.
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The key facts have been confirmed by the European competition database, the company and independent telecoms reporting. Expectations about completion and the stock-market listing are presented as expectations.
- confirmed The European Commission approved the transaction on 13 October. — The European competition database gives that date and lists the parties involved. source
- confirmed The sale is worth €669 million. — The amount appears in the company announcement and earlier reporting on the transaction. source
- confirmed VodafoneZiggo will continue to use the masts as a tenant. — Tweakers describes the sale as a transition from ownership to renting. source
- confirmed The buyer consists of funds managed by DigitalBridge, TD Greystone Infrastructure and L&G. — This is stated in Liberty Global’s press release. source
- confirmed The proceeds are intended to reduce Ziggo Group’s debt. — Liberty Global names debt reduction as the destination of the proceeds. source
Editor's note
The European approval, the transaction value and the proposed ownership structure have been confirmed. Completion by the end of 2026 and the planned stock-market listing are company expectations, not completed facts.Sources
- Competition case search: DigitalBridge / TDAM / L&G / BTP / Vodafone Antennelocaties / JV — Europese Commissie
- VodafoneZiggo verkoopt masten om schuld te verlagen in aanloop naar beursgang — Tweakers
- Liberty Global Agrees to Sell Dutch Towers Ahead of 2027 Ziggo Group Listing — Liberty Global
- VodafoneZiggo krijgt EU-goedkeuring voor verkoop zendmasten aan DigitalBridge — Telecompaper
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „vodafoneziggo zendmasten”
- NU.nl — „vodafoneziggo zendmasten”
- De Telegraaf — „vodafoneziggo zendmasten”