Advanced Television

Altice, KKR create Hivory tower business

December 19, 2018

Telecoms, content, media, entertainment and advertising group Altice Europe and global investment firm KKR have announced the creation of Hivory, the largest independent telecoms tower company in France and third largest European tower company.

The creation of Hivory follows the successful completion of the transaction announced in June 2018 of KKR’s acquisition of a 49.99 per cent stake in a portfolio of more than 10,000 of Altice’s French towers.

Hivory has a nationwide presence, benefiting from more than 10,000 strategically-located sites with a diversified portfolio of ground-based towers and rooftops. The company is focused on serving the growing infrastructure needs for mobile operators to provide connectivity to all parts of the French population, meeting continued strong demand for data consumption and increased coverage.

Through Hivory, Altice and KKR will proactively 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.

The company will seek to contribute to the development of French technology infrastructure and innovation, supporting telecom players on the eve of the ‘New Deal’ for French mobile and 5G roll out.

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.”

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