CK Hutchison moved a step closer to completing a €10 billion sale of its European tower assets to Cellnex Telecom after the Hong Kong company’s shareholders blessed the transaction.

Shareholders unanimously approved the sale in an EGM held today (18 December), during which they also voted to re-elect Wong Kwai Lam as a CK Hutchison director.

The vote advances a deal struck with Cellnex in November involving the sale of tower assets and businesses in Austria, Denmark, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Sweden and the UK.

The agreement involves separate transactions in each country: CK Hutchison previously stated it expected the first of these to close by end-December and the rest in 2021, all subject to “relevant conditions” being met.

Around 24,600 sites are involved, with the companies partnering to deploy roughly 6,700 more. Long-term service contracts spanning 15 years are also included.

When the deal was announced, Cellnex explained it strengthened its position in Italy, the UK and Ireland, while adding Austria, Sweden and Denmark.