Advising on the seventh-largest deal in Spanish history
This is the story of how PwC UK worked with colleagues in PwC Spain to help Cellnex Telecom, a Spanish telecommunications infrastructure and services company, with the successful acquisition of over 24,500 phone masts across six countries subject to the relevant regulatory requirements.
Setting the scene
We know the power of strong working relationships. They can transcend both time and borders. When Cellnex Telecom were in the market for professional services support to complete a large-scale acquisition, the Tax team in our Cardiff office got the call. But what was the connection?
The team has a long relationship with Abertis, the business which spun off Cellnex. Chris Williams, a partner in our Corporate Tax team, had worked with Abertis a number of years prior. Although some time had passed, Chris had maintained the relationship with a senior stakeholder from that previous engagement and PwC Spain had developed strong relationships with Cellnex management.
“The team helped us solve complex issues with proactivity and on a real time basis. In spite of external challenges facing everyone, there was no impact on the ability to deliver and support us with this transformational transaction.”
How we helped
Cellnex Telecom were looking to expand their business across Europe and were in the process of acquiring masts from a major mobile phone provider.
This was a multi-billion Euro deal involving Cellnex adding towers and sites from six European territories to its portfolio, reinforcing its position as the leading independent mast operator in Europe and as one of the largest companies in Spain. An undertaking like this required a variety of skills and experience, and working collaboratively as a truly global project team we were able to support the client in a number of different of ways. Our UK team based in Cardiff provided UK Subject Matter Expertise (SME) tax advice, working with colleagues from PwC Spain who coordinated and provided the project management to help the client navigate this complex transaction.
As with most projects during this time, the team also worked in a fully virtual set-up as the pandemic across the world continued to enforce remote working.
“Cellnex is a global leader in the telecommunications sector and rapidly growing. We are proud to be partnering with them to help them achieve their ambitions.”
Making a difference
The scale and cross-territory intricacies involved in this work exemplifies the power of our global network. Our PwC colleagues were able to deliver against the client's expectations despite physical barriers.
Our team now supports Cellnex’s UK tax function while our Consulting division is advising them on wider transformation projects.
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