Cellnex and Deutsche Telekom finalised a deal to merge their respective tower operations in the Netherlands after getting the go-ahead from Dutch competition authorities, a move the tower operator pitched as an opportunity to become a key player in the country.

The deal involves taking over 3,150 T-Mobile Infra towers in the Netherlands for a 15-year term, with automatic renewal covering periods of ten-years included.

Following completion, Cellnex will operate a total of 4,314 towers in the country, with the Deutsche Telekom deal including a requirement to deploy 180 new sites over the next seven years. Once those are deployed, the transaction is expected to boost Cellnex’s EBITDA by around €63 million and its recurring cash flow after debt by €30 million.

Cellnex CEO Tobias Martinez commented the move presents “a new growth operation” to the market, “one that preserves and protects our capacity to take on more projects by not consuming financial resources from the group”, as the deal involved gaining assets in exchange for equity in its local division.

The pair agreed on a merger of their tower businesses in January, alongside plans to establish a digital infrastructure vehicle, looking to invest in infrastructure assets including fibre, towers and data centres.