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The proceeds from the 10% stake sale will help reduce the company’s debt pile
Today, Vodafone has announced the sale of a further 10% stake in Oak Holdings, the infrastructure joint venture that controls its mobile tower spin-off Vantage Towers.
The stake’s buyer is Vodafone’s partner in Oak Holdings, a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners ad KKR, who have agreed to pay the operator €1.3 billion.
Back in 2022, Vodafone shifted its 81.7% stake in Vantage Tower to the newly formed Oak Holdings, saying it would gradually sell down its stake in the joint venture until it had achieved ownership parity with the consortium. By doing so, Vodafone explained at the time, the operator aimed to retain control over its critical passive infrastructure whilst also raising funds to reduce its debt.
Follow the 10% stake sale today, Vodafone has now achieved the desired 50:50 ownership split with Oak Holdings. The operator is not planning any further divestment.
Including today’s announcement, the formation of the joint venture and subsequent stake divestment has seen Vodafone raise €6.6 billion in the last two years.
Funds raised from the stake sale will reportedly go towards reducing Vodafone’s debt, which stood at €33.2 billion as of March this year.
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