Cellnex
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| Type | Sociedad Anónima |
|---|---|
| BMAD: CLNX | |
| ISIN | ES0105066007 |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 2015 (as Cellnex Telecom in Barcelona, Spain; predecessor Abertis Telecom since 2000) |
| Headquarters | , Spain |
Key people | Marco Patuano (CEO) |
| Revenue |  €3,995 million (2025)[1] |
| €476 million (2025)[1] | |
Number of employees |  2,511 (2025)[1] |
| Website | cellnex |
Cellnex Telecom is a Spanish telecommunications infrastructure and services company. The company operates a portfolio of over 110,000 telecommunications sites in ten European countries (Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdon, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands and Switzerland), providing share-use infrastructure primarily to mobile networks operators. Its activity is divided into four main areas: telecommunications infrastructures; distributed antenna Systems (DAS), small cells and other network services; broadcast networks; fibre, connectivity and hosting services.[1]
Cellnex was formed in 2015 as a spin-off of the telecommunications infrastructure division of Abertis and listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange that same year. It became a component of the IBEX 35 index in June 2016. Between 2015 and 2022, the company expanded from its original base in Spain to twelve European markets through a series of acquisitions. In November 2022, Cellnex announced a strategic shift away from acquisition-led growth towards organic expansion and deleveraging.[2]
Marco Patuano is the CEO since the Annual Shareholder's Meeting hold in June 2023, ratified the appointment. He succeeds Tobias Martinez, who led the company through its significant growth and expansion since its IPO in 2015.[3]
Cellnex Telecom had revenues of 3,995€Mn in 2025 and an EBITDA of 3,317€Mn. At the end of 2025, there were 2,511 employees.[1]. Cellnex Telecom is listed on the market of the Bolsa de Madrid and is part of the IBEX35. It is also part of the sustainability indices FTSE4GOOD, CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and Standard Ethics.[4]
History
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In 2000, Acesa Telecom (later Abertis Telecom) acquired 52% of Tradia, a Spanish broadcasting infrastructure company, and merged into Abertis Telecom (now Cellnex Telecom). Three years later, after Auna was spun-off, Retevisión's audiovisual business became part of Abertis Telecom. In 2005, the deployment of Digital Terrestrial Television began in Spain, with a network that reached 80% population coverage carrying out the first tests in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza and Gijón. In 2006, the company was awarded the contract by which it became the operator of DTT signals for Spanish broadcasters with national coverage. In 2010, the “Analogue Blackout”[5] occurred in Spain, after the complete digitization of Abertis Telecom network of centers. Between 2012 and 2013, the company acquired more than 2,500 telecommunication towers from Telefónica and Yoigo, and laid the foundations for its future position as a neutral operator. In 2014, the company made its first international acquisition by entering the Italian market, it acquired TowerCo, an Italian telecommunications operator, which manages the mobile phone towers located in the entire motorway network of Italy, thus initiating the process of internationalization. That same year it deployed the first Internet of Things (IoT) network in Spain with Sigfox technology.
IPO and European expansion
[edit]Cellnex Telecom is the name which the company Abertis Telecom was renamed to prepare for its IPO.[6] The company, a subsidiary of the Abertis company, officially changed its name on 1 April 2015, after being approved at the shareholders' meeting that took place on 23 March 2015.[7] On 24 April it was made public that the company would debut on the stock market on 7 May that year, at a price that would range between 12 and 14 euros per share, estimating a market capitalization between 2.8 and 3.2 billion euros. The company shares opened at €15.50 ont heir first day of trading. [8]
In June 2016, Cellnex was included in the IBEX35, the benchmark stock market index of the Bolsa de Madrid, replacing Sacyr.
The company expanded rapidly into new European Markets through acquisitions: France in 2016 through a tower deal With Bouygues Telecom,[9] the Netherlands in 2016 (Shere Group and Towerlink)[10], and Switzerland in 2017 through the acquisition of towers from Salt.[11] In 2019, Cellnex entered the United Kingdom through the acquisition of the telecoms divisions of Arqiva[12] and Ireland through the acquisition of Cignal[13] Infrastructure from InfraVia Capital Partners.
In October 2017, Cellnex moved its registered office from Barcelona to Madrid although the majority of its workforce and operations remained in Barcelona. [14]
In November 2020, Cellnex and CK Hutchison announced a series of agreements under which Cellnex would acquire approximately 24,600 existing telecommunications sites and commitments for approximately 5,400 additional sites across six European markets: United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland. The transaction, one of the largest in the European tower sector, was completed in 2022.[15][16]
Divisions
[edit]Cellnex Telecom is present in four different areas:
- Telecommunications Infrastructure Services: The company has more than 24,000 locations and offers a set of services aimed at ensuring the conditions for a reliable transmission for the broadcasting of content
- Audiovisual broadcasting networks: Cellnex offers DTT and radio coverage to 99% of the population in Spain
- Smart Cities, IoT & Security: The company has deployed the first Internet of Things (IoT) network in Spain, with Sigfox technology and coverage of 95% of the population. Likewise, Cellnex Telecom designs, deploys and operates networks that guarantee communications to security and emergency bodies, fleets of forest guards, civil protection and firefighters, among others.
- DAS & Small Cells: Cellnex Telecom facilitates broadband connectivity through DAS (Distributed Antenna System) and “small cells” systems for those mobile operators that require guaranteed coverage in spaces such as sports stadiums, shopping centers, airports, metro lines or railway stations.
Presence in Europe
[edit]The company has thousands of mobile phone towers, being the first independent European operator in the management of telecommunications infrastructures. Cellnex Telecom is specialized in the deployment of networks prepared for 5G technology because of its presence in twelve European countries: Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and Poland.[17]
Cellnex Spain
[edit]Cellnex Telecom has a network of telecommunications infrastructures in Spain of 8,832 operating sites distributed throughout the territory, which provide wide geographical coverage and allow it to offer services to mobile operators, broadcasters and administrations. Cellnex, as a neutral operator, offers all mobile operators the services necessary for the wireless transmission of data and content, allowing its customers a high degree of efficiency in the deployment of networks and positioning itself in the development of 5G networks.
Cellnex Italy
[edit]Cellnex is the leading independent wireless telecommunications infrastructure operator in Italy. The 10,000 sites that Cellnex operates in Italy through its subsidiaries Galata and Towerco constitute one of the densest and most capillary networks that cover the entire Italian territory, positioning the company in a privileged situation to accompany the rapid deployment of new generation networks. CommsCon (another subsidiary) manages an additional 1,500 DAS nodes. Both Galata, Towerco and CommsCon, the companies through which Cellnex operates in Italy, work under the multi-operator and multi-service concept. Furthermore, in May 2019, Cellnex announced a new agreement with Iliad Italia whereby the company has acquired 2,200 new sites. In total, Cellnex has a network of 14,230 sites in Italy country.
Cellnex France
[edit]Cellnex France was created in July 2016 after reaching an acquisition agreement with Bouygues Telecom. The agreement with the company, which includes the usage of sites until 2022, was renewed in February 2017 and December 2018 and has given Cellnex the means to be a significant operator in the service provision segment in the short term of infrastructures to French telecommunications operators. In addition, in May 2019, the company announced a new agreement with Iliad France with which it will manage the sites that are currently integrated into Free, a French voice and data operator. In total, Cellnex has a network of 13,750 sites in France.
Cellnex Netherlands
[edit]Cellnex Telecom acquired Towerlink Netherlands B.V., Shere Masten B.V. in 2016 and Alticom B.V. in 2017. The three companies have more than 918 telecommunications sites for the distribution of mobile data communication and telecommunications. The main customers interested in telecom infrastructure services are the Dutch mobile network operators KPN, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Tele2. The sites are distributed throughout the country and are managed from their central Reeuwijk office.
Cellnex UK
[edit]Cellnex acquired the telecommunications division of Arqiva in the United Kingdom,[18] adding 8,300 locations to Cellnex in the British market. The agreement follows the announcement in June 2020 of a long-term strategic alliance with BT, through which Cellnex obtained the rights to commercialize and operate 220 high-rise towers distributed throughout the United Kingdom. This alliance entails the acquisition of around 7,400 owned sites and the marketing rights for an additional 900 sites spread throughout the UK. Cellnex UK thus became the main independent operator of wireless telecommunications infrastructures in the United Kingdom. The agreement also includes concessions for the use of street furniture for the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure in 14 boroughs of London.
Cellnex Switzerland
[edit]Following the agreement with Salt in May 2019, Cellnex manages a portfolio of more than 6,000 sites and is permanently consolidated in Switzerland.
Cellnex Ireland
[edit]In September 2019, Cellnex reached an agreement with InfraVia Capital Partners for the acquisition of the Irish telecommunications tower and site operator Cignal. The company currently operates 546 sites in Ireland, making it the seventh country in which Cellnex operates in Europe.
In March 2024, it was announced Cellnex Ireland had been acquired by the Boca Raton, Florida-headquartered wireless infrastructure operator, Phoenix Tower International for €971 million.[19]
Cellnex Poland
[edit]In October 2020 Cellnex bought passive infrastructure from P4 (PLAY)[20] later in February 2021 Cellnex bought passive and active infrastructure from Polkomtel Infrastruktura (PLUS GSM).[21]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 "Integrated Annual Report 2025" (PDF). Cellnex Telecom. Cellnex Telecom, S.A. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex acelera su cambio de estrategia". expansion.com. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex's CEO Tobias Martinez steps down amid strategy shift". Reuters. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ↑ "Cellnex Telecom ingresa en el índice sostenible 'Standard Ethics'". Compromiso RSE (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ Gómez, Rosario G. (29 March 2010). "Todo listo para el apagón analógico". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ "Abertis Telecom se llama desde hoy Cellnex con la vista puesta en su salida a Bolsa". Expansión.com (in Spanish). 1 April 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ Cellnex Telecom, S.A. y Sociedades Dependientes cellnextelecom.com February 2017 (in Spanish)
- ↑ "Cellnex Telecom saldrá a Bolsa con acciones a entre 12 y 14 euros". El País (in Spanish). 23 April 2015. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex entra en Francia con la compra de 230 torres de telefonía a Bouygues Telecom por 80 millones". Cinco Días (in Spanish). 11 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Spain's Cellnex says buys Shere Group for 393 million euros". Reuters.com. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex Telecom buys Swiss Towers AG in consortium, for 430 mln euros". Reuters.com. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex compra torres a Arquiva y ya es el segundo operador de infraestructuras 'telco' del mundo". elmundo.es (in Spanish). 8 October 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Irish telco Cignal acquired by Spain's Cellnex in €210m deal". irishtimes.com. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex también se lleva temporalmente su sede social a Madrid". lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). 9 October 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex closes CK Hutchison deal in the UK" (pdf). Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex to acquire 24,800 sites from CK Hutchison in record breaking deal". capacityglobal.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Cellnex Global - Cellnex". 31 August 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ↑ "Endless opportunities through telecom connectivity - Cellnex". 24 August 2021.
- ↑ "Phoenix Tower International enters Ireland after acquiring Cellnex's 1,900 towers for $1.1 Billion". Wireless Estimator. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ↑ "cellnextelecom". cellnextelecom. 24 August 2021.
- ↑ cellnex (PDF). 24 August 2021.
