Deals

American Tower Enters Europe in $9.4 Billion Telefonica Deal

Sale covers more than 30,000 sites in Europe, Latin America
U.S. tower operators have largely let Cellnex dominate Europe

A wireless mast used by Telefonica SA.
Photographer: Christoph Dernbach/DPA/Getty Images

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By Tom Pfeiffer and Scott Moritz

January 13, 2021 at 7:11 AM UTC

Updated on

January 13, 2021 at 3:01 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Telefonica SA’s sale of telecommunication masts to American Tower Corp. opens a new front in the race to control Europe’s fast-growing tower industry.

American Tower is paying 7.7 billion euros ($9.4 billion) cash for about 30,700 tower sites in Spain, Germany, Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina held by Telefonica unit Telxius Telecom. This marks the biggest threat yet to Cellnex Telecom SA, Europe’s biggest independent tower operator.