T-Mobile USA’s exploration of a sale of its tower system may help the company raise as much as $3 billion for parent Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE), according to Macquarie Capital USA Inc.
Citing discussions with tower companies American Tower Corp. (AMT), Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI) and SBA Communications Corp. (SBAC), Macquarie analyst Kevin Smithen wrote in a note today that there was potentially “a hotly contested auction” of T- Mobile towers. The price may be at least $2.25 billion and could go higher, the New York-based analyst wrote.
“All three tower companies have expressed strong interest” in T-Mobile towers, Smithen wrote.
T-Mobile is considering the tower sale as a way to fund possible spectrum purchases and an long-term-evolution network expansion, Deutsche Telekom’s Chief Financial Officer Timotheus Hoettges said last month, after the failure of a $39 billion AT&T Inc. (T) takeover bid.
T-Mobile is the fourth-largest U.S. wireless operator. Deutsche Telekom explored a possible T-Mobile tower sale a year ago, and shelved that strategy in March when AT&T made its offer.
Smithen estimated that T-Mobile has 7,500 towers, making up the largest network that might go up for sale unless there is an offering by AT&T or by Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone Group Plc. (VOD)
Philipp Kornstaedt, a Deutsche Telekom spokesman, declined to comment. Representatives for American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications weren’t immediately available for comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Moritz in New York at smoritz6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net
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