Altice and KKR unveil new tower company

Cable and telecom operator Altice Europe and private-equity investor KKR have announced the creation of Hivory, the new name for the largest mobile transmission tower company in France, following KKR’s acquisition of a 49.99% stake in Altice’s French tower unit in June.

According to Altice, Hivory operates towers at 10,000 strategically located sites with a diversified portfolio of ground-based towers and rooftops.

The company said that it, together with KKR, would seek to partner with all mobile operators to develop their coverage and densification objectives in France, through the build-to-suit of new towers and facilitating colocation needs in the French mobile market.

Alain Weill, CEO of Altice Europe, and Vincent Policard, Member at KKR in the European Infrastructure team, jointly said: “Altice and KKR are excited about the prospects for Hivory in improving mobile connectivity in France and building the telecommunications infrastructure critical for modern society. Hivory will benefit from strong market tailwinds, as well as the sector expertise and operational resources which Altice and KKR will provide through our partnership.”

Altice France has entered into an exclusivity agreement with KKR for the sale of a minority stake in its tower business in June as part of a move by the company to reduce its debt.

Altice’s Portuguese unit PT Portugal meanwhile reached an agreement at the same time to sell 75% of its tower business to a  a consortium including Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Horizon Equity Partners.