The towers are multiplying – Newspaper Kommersant No. 233 (7434) of 12/15/2022

The former CEO of the infrastructure company Russian Towers, Alexander Chub, founded the Russian Infrastructure Company (RIK), which will build antenna-mast structures (AMS) to accommodate the base stations of mobile operators. Funds for its development were allocated by a group of investors whose names were not disclosed. Against the backdrop of tower market consolidation, entry into the segment of a new participant may reduce placement prices, experts admit, but RIC will be able to take a significant share only by purchasing MTS or Tele2 towers, which have not yet sold their assets.

Kommersant discovered in the SPARK-Interfax database that the former head of the Russian Towers group, Alexander Chub, founded a new independent AMS operator, JSC Russian Infrastructure Company (RIK). It was registered October 10th.

Mr. Chub clarified to Kommersant through a representative that the company will also build AMS, but is conceptually focused on projects for integrated coverage of districts, cities and complex territories: “Our strategic goal is to offer coverage as a service.” According to him, the project is estimated at billions of rubles: “We are working with a group of investors, we do not disclose their names.” Kommersant’s source on the market says that Major avto could become one of the investors in the project. According to Autobusinessreview, in 2021 the holding ranked second among dealers in terms of revenue with a result of 245 billion rubles. Major avto didn’t answer “Kommersant”.

Within a year, the number of RIC facilities will reach “a number with three zeros,” Alexander Chub promises: “And in a ten-year perspective, there will be at least 15,000 facilities throughout the country. And these figures do not include plans for major systemic deals.” He clarified that RIC “is interested in the possibility of participating in transactions for the acquisition of MTS and Tele2 towers.” According to Mr. Chub, the company already has facilities that host stations of all federal operators. But in Tele2 and MegaFon, Kommersant said that they did not cooperate with RIC. VimpelCom and MTS declined to comment.

The Russian tower infrastructure market began to consolidate in 2021. Vimpelcom sold its portfolio (15.4 thousand towers) to Service Telecom (75% – from Galina Gurinova, wife of Vadim Gurinov, founder of Cordiant, 20% – from Dmitry Sokov, ex-head of the board of directors of Cordiant “, 5% – from Olga Berdina, wife of the company’s CEO Nikolai Berdin). MegaFon – 17 thousand towers of Kismet Capital Group (KCG) Ivan Tavrin in October 2021. VimpelCom’s asset under the deal was valued at 70 billion rubles, MegaFon at 94.2 billion rubles. The Russian Towers group (7.2 thousand AMS throughout Russia) was sold by UFG Private Equity to the same KCG at the beginning of the year (see Kommersant dated January 10). It entered New Towers JSC (65% – from KCG, 25% – from MegaFon, the remaining share belongs to the structures of the founder of “Vertical” Georgy Chumburidze), created on the basis of the assets of the company “Vertical” and the First Tower Company “MegaFon” , which was also acquired by KCG.

In the first half of the year, MTS also hoped to sell its towers (23,000 AMS), but against the backdrop of a shortage of equipment for the development of networks due to sanctions, market development slowed down, and the operator postponed the deal (see Kommersant dated April 26). The asset, according to Kommersant, is still claimed by Service Telecom (they did not respond to a request).

Tele2 began the reorganization of assets and the formation of a tower company on the basis of its subsidiary Pilar LLC in July (see Kommersant dated July 13). Experts believed that the company is doing this to sell the asset. But now Tele2 is only emphasizing that they are reducing their dependence on other market participants: “We are refusing the services of the New Tower Company and Service Telecom. In the current situation, it has become difficult to negotiate mutually beneficial terms with these partners.”

The appearance of RIC may affect the cost of renting AMS, the interlocutor of Kommersant believes in the telecom market: “The segment turned out to be stable against the backdrop of the crisis, since operators, as a rule, conclude long-term contracts, but the equipment shortage factor affected the market dynamics.” At the same time, in his opinion, RIC will be able to take a significant market share only if it acquires one of the tower businesses of telecom operators, for which “serious investments will be required, since even against the backdrop of a crisis, companies do not reduce the price of assets.”

Julia Tishina, Olga Nikitina