| Over a week ago | ||||
Liberty Global (LBTYA)… Liberty Global (LBTYA) and Telefonica (TEF) announced their intention to appoint Lutz Schueler as Chief Executive Officer and Patricia Cobian as Chief Financial Officer of the proposed 50-50 joint venture combining Virgin Media and O2. The merger is subject to approval by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK. Lutz Schuler joined Virgin Media in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer and has been CEO at Virgin Media since June 2019. Prior to that, Schuler spent more than seven years as CEO of Unitymedia GmbH, Liberty Global's highly successful German operation, which was sold to Vodafone in 2018. During his tenure at Virgin Media he has transformed business performance with the acceleration of 1 Gig broadband, the rollout of new entertainment and smart WiFi services and the market's first fixed-mobile bundles. Schuler is a 27-year veteran of the telecoms industry, beginning his career at T-Mobile Deutschland in 1994 and later serving in various senior management roles, including Chief Operating Officer with Telefonica's O2 German subsidiary from 1998 to 2010. Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, and Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete Lopez, CEO of Telefonica, commented: "We are about to embark on an exciting new chapter for Virgin Media and O2, and Lutz and Patricia are the right leaders to deliver on our ambition to create the UK's national connectivity champion. Together they will build a strong, diverse and dynamic team that will bring more choice, more value and world-class innovation to over 46 million fixed and mobile customers and the broader consumer and enterprise market." | ||||
BofA analyst David Wright… BofA analyst David Wright upgraded Telefonica to Buy from Neutral with a EUR 5.40 price target. Telefonica is due multiple catalysts over the next 12 months that should support valuation and a shift in sentiment, including the completion of the U.K. merger in Q2, Brazilian consolidation in Q4, and currency normalization, stabilizing growth, Wright tells investors in a research note. | ||||
| Over a month ago | ||||
Barclays analyst Mathieu… Barclays analyst Mathieu Robilliard raised the firm's price target on Telefonica to EUR 4.20 from EUR 4 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. | ||||
KKR (KKR) announced it… KKR (KKR) announced it has entered into an agreement with Telefonica (TEF) to establish Chile's first open access wholesale fiber optics company with the mission to bring greater broadband access across Chile. Under the agreement, KKR will acquire a majority stake in Telefonica Chile's existing fiber optic network, the largest fiber optic network in Chile, and make that network open access through a newly established independent Chilean company with assets managed locally. Telefonica will hold a 40% stake in the business. The newly formed enterprise will serve as Chile's first wholesale digital infrastructure network open to all current and future telecom operators in Chile, creating a competitive marketplace benefitting consumers and businesses across the country. Upon approval, the new business plans to expand broadband coverage in Chile from 2 million households today to a minimum of 3.5 million households by 2023, and to provide wholesale service to more than 40,000 businesses, telecom towers, and small cells. The newly formed network will provide access to under-served areas with more than two-thirds of households covered by the network being outside of high-income urban areas. The transaction is valued at approximately $1B and is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals. The new company will be controlled by KKR and will leverage the firm's global experience in digital infrastructure and in operating and deploying fiber networks, including related investments in FiberCop in Italy, Hyperoptic in the U.K., Deutsche Glasfaser in Germany, Telxius in Europe and Latin America, Hivory in France, Global Technical Realty in Europe, Bharti Infratel in India, and Pinnacle Towers in the Philippines. | ||||
New Street Research… New Street Research analyst Soomit Datta upgraded Telefonica to Buy from Neutral with a EUR 5.20 price target. | ||||
Wipro Limited (WIT)… Wipro Limited (WIT) announced a five-year strategic partnership with Telefonica Germany (TEF) / O2, a provider of mobile telecommunications, broadband and landline in Germany. As a part of this contract, Wipro will work with Telefonica Germany / O2 "to transform its Business Support Systems and associated Quality Assurance to enable superior customer experience and growth in the B2B market segment." | |
Morgan Stanley analyst… Morgan Stanley analyst Nawar Cristini lowered the firm's price target on Telefonica to EUR 4.70 from EUR 5 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. | |
Barclays analyst Mathieu… Barclays analyst Mathieu Robilliard lowered the firm's price target on Telefonica to EUR 4 from EUR 4.10 and kept an Equal Weight rating on the shares. |
| Over a quarter ago | ||||
Jefferies analyst Jeremy… Jefferies analyst Jeremy Dellis downgraded Telefonica to Underperform from Hold with a price target of EUR 3.20, up from EUR 3. Even after its tower disposal pro-forma leverage remains high, said Dellis, who recommends the stock as part of a way to play the "COVID unwind." | ||||
American Tower (AMT)… American Tower (AMT) announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with Telefonica (TEF), under which it will acquire Telxius Towers, comprising approximately 31,000 existing communications sites in Germany, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina. The total consideration for the transaction approximately $9.4B, subject to customary closing adjustments. In addition, American Tower expects to spend approximately $500M to construct a committed pipeline of approximately 3,300 new sites in Germany and Brazil through 2025. American Tower expects the assets to generate approximately $775M in property revenue, approximately $410M in gross margin, and approximately $390M in Adjusted EBITDA at current foreign exchange rates, in their first full year in its portfolio, pro forma for contributions from the committed future build-to-suits. This implies an Enterprise Value / Adjusted EBITDA multiple of less than 26x. The transaction is anticipated to be immediately accretive to Consolidated AFFO per Share and is expected to close in multiple tranches, beginning in the second quarter, subject to government and regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. | ||||