KKR emerges as favourite for Deutsche Telekom’s US$20 billion tower business

A consortium led by KKR has reportedly emerged as the favourite to buy Deutsche Telekom’s US$20 billion-valued tower business in what is emerging to be a competitive bidding process.

According to Bloomberg, the US-based investment company has made an offer in conjunction with Global Infrastructure Partners and Stonepeak.

The sources cited by the report claimed that the KKR offer is more attractive than other proposals from Brookfield Asset Management and Europe’s largest tower operator Cellnex. Vodafone had also stated its interest in a bid via its infrastructure arm Vantage Towers, but its interest has reportedly cooled.

Deutsche Telekom is set to choose a winner this week, with the company still open to retaining the tower business should an adequate bid not emerge. Should it go through, any sale would represent one of the largest infrastructure deals in Europe this year, with investors increasingly looking to phone towers as a steady source of long-term returns.