- Spark to sell remaining stake in mobile tower business Connexa to a Canadian investment giant.
- The sale is worth $314 million, with the company expecting a $70m gain in underlying profit.
- The deal is subject to regulatory approval and expected to be complete next year.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Spark has struck a deal with a Canadian investment giant to sell the remaining stake in its mobile tower network.
The $314 million sale to Canada-based investment group CDPQ would see Spark divest its 17 percent stake in Connexa, with the telco expecting the sale to deliver a gain of about $70m in underlying profit.
The deal would be subject to regulatory approval and expected to be completed in the third quarter of Spark's 2025 financial year.
As part of the agreement, Connexa's majority owner, Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, would also sell a third of its shareholding to CDPQ, Spark said.
On completion, Ontario Teachers and CDPQ would each hold a 50 percent stake in Connexa.
Spark said it would remain a key customer of Connexa and continue to determine how its mobile network would be developed, with Connexa designing and deploying build programmes.
Spark would continue to own radio equipment and spectrum.
"In October we announced a review of our non-core assets and our intention to divest our remaining shareholding in mobile towers business Connexa to further strengthen our balance sheet," Spark chief executive Jolie Hodson said.
"The sale to CDPQ, a high-calibre global investment group, reflects the high quality of this asset and will ensure, alongside existing owner Ontario Teachers', Connexa remains well positioned to deliver its services to customers, including Spark," Hodson said.
Spark's move to sell its remaining Connexa shares followed a sale of its majority stake in the mobile towers business in 2022 (when it was then known as TowerCo).
Following that sale, Spark launched a $350m share buy-back programme.
But it had since endured a more difficult period, with the company citing tough economic conditions and delivering a below-par result in the 2024 financial year.
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