TMT Finance Awards EMEA 2026 Shortlists

Europe Towers Deal

Cellnex’s E2.8bn refinancing 
A refinancing of its main syndicated credit facility, increasing the total amount to E2.8bn and extending maturity to July 2032.
Financial Advisors: ING, BBVA (Borrower)
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (Borrower); Latham & Watkins (Lenders) 

Vauban, EDF, MEAG strike E803m Cellnex Austria deal 
The acquisition of Cellnex’s business in Austria for E803m by a consortium comprising Vauban Infrastructure Partners, EDF Invest, and MEAG.
Financial Advisors: Deutsche Bank, Mediobanca (Sell Side); Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, Crédit Agricole CIB (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance, Wolf Theiss (Sell Side); Hogan Lovells, Schoenherr (Buy Side)

PTI acquires Cellnex Ireland for E971m 
Phoenix Tower International’s acquisition of Cellnex's business in Ireland for E971m. 
Financial Advisors: Barclays PLC, Banco Santander (Sell Side); Nomura (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Matheson (Sell Side); Arthur Cox (Buy Side)

InfraRed’s E108m Proximus Luxembourg Infra purchase 
The acquisition of Proximus Luxembourg Infrastructure by InfraRed Capital Partners’ European Infrastructure Income Fund 4 for E108m. 
Financial Advisors: Evercore - report (Sell Side); DC Advisory (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Arendt, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (Buy Side) 

US$2bn Vantage Towers AG USPP 
The issuance of a US$2bn US private placement (USPP) to partially redeem and refinance existing senior secured bank liabilities.
Financial Advisors: BNP Paribas, MUFG, SMBC – report (Borrower)

Fibre Deal - M&A

CityFibre snaps up Connexin full fibre infra
For the acquisition of Connexin’s full fibre infrastructure by CityFibre. 
Financial Advisors: Cameron Barney Herbst Hilgenfeldt (Sell Side) 
Legal Advisors: Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (Sell Side); Bristows (Buy Side) 

Keppel’s US$185m Global Marine Group acquisition 
For the acquisition by Keppel Infrastructure Fund of a 100% stake in Global Marine Group for US$185m. 
Financial Advisors: Evercore (Sell Side)
Legal Advisors: Blank Rome, Jones Day (Sell Side); Latham & Watkins (Buy Side)

Goldman Sachs Alternatives seals US$780m Melita deal  
For the acquisition by Goldman Sachs Alternatives of a 100% stake in Melita from EQT for US$780m. 
Financial Advisors: UBS (Sell Side); Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Camilleri Preziosi, Milbank (Sell Side); Ganado Advocates, Ropes & Gray, Sidley Austin (Buy Side)

CVC DIF’s c. US$1bn TDF Fibre unit purchase 
For the acquisition by CVC DIF of 100% of TDF’s Fibre business for c. US$1bn. 
Financial Advisors: BNP Paribas, DC Advisory (Sell Side); Lazard (Buy Side) 
Legal Advisors: De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, Hogan Lovells (Sell Side); Freshfields (Buy Side) 

Vauban Infra Fibre sells minority stake to GIC 
For the minority investment by GIC affiliate into Vauban Infra Fibre.
Financial Advisors: CACIB, Nomura, Rothschild & Co (Sell Side); Morgan Stanley (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: BDGS Associates, Clifford Chance (Sell Side); A&O Shearman (Buy Side)

Oaktree’s Zzoomm merges with Basalt’s FullFibre 
For the merger between UK altnets Zzoomm, backed by Oaktree Capital Management and FullFibre, backed by Basalt Infrastructure Partners.
Financial Advisors: Acuity Advisors (Zzoomm); Houlihan Lokey (FullFibre)
Legal Advisors: Weil, Gotshal & Manges (Zzoomm); Ashurst (FullFibre)

Datacentre Deal - Financing

E3.3bn Data4 dual-financing package
The structuring of a E3.3bn dual-financing package, divided into E2.2bn of new term debt to refinance 10 operational datacentres (‘StableCo’) and a E1.1bn incremental capex facility (‘GrowthCo’).
Lenders: MUFG, Natixis, SMBC, Société Générale; ABN Amro – report
Legal Advisors: Linklaters (Data4 – StableCo); Simmons & Simmons (Data4 – GrowthCo); Clifford Chance (Lenders)

E450m Digital Realty/ Blackstone JV refi 
The E450m refinancing of a datacentre portfolio belonging to Digital Realty and Blackstone’s joint venture – report.
Lenders: Morgan Stanley, Société Générale, SMBC, and Standard Chartered (Underwriters – report)

EcoDataCenter’s E600m debt financing
A E600m debt financing provided by Deutsche Bank Private Credit and Infrastructure to fund further development of datacentre campuses.
Financial Advisors: LionTree Advisors
Legal Advisors: White & Case (EcoDataCenter)

E650m OpCore senior financing
A E650m senior financing, comprised of a E400m capex facility, E200m term loan and E50m revolving credit facility, to facilitate the sale by the iliad Group to InfraVia of a 50% stake in OpCore.
Financial Advisors: RBC Capital Markets, Lazard
Lenders: Crédit Agricole, ING, MUFG and Société Générale (Underwriters – report); ABN Amro (Lender – report)
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (Borrowers); White & Case (Lenders)

Vantage Data Centers’ E640m ABS 
The issuance of E640m in securitised term notes to refinance four datacentres in Germany, marking the first euro-based securitisation of datacentre assets.
Financial Advisors: Barclays (Sole Structuring Advisor, Sole Green Structuring Advisor)
Bookrunners: Barclays, Deutsche Bank (Active Joint Lead Managers), ING, Natixis (Joint Lead Managers), ABN Amro, Banco Sabadell, SMBC, Société Générale (Co-Managers)
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (Vantage)

Telecom Deal - M&A

£3.2bn BT share sale 
For the acquisition of 24.5% of BT shares by Bharti Televentures UK for £3.2bn.
Financial Advisors: Barclays (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Herbert Smith Freehills (Sell Side); Linklaters (Buy Side)

US$3.1bn Intelsat sale to SES 
For the acquisition of a 100% stake in Intelsat by SES for US$3.1bn.
Financial Advisors: PJT Partners (Sell Side); Deutsche Bank, Guggenheim Securities, Morgan Stanley (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Elvinger Hoss Prussen, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Wiley Rein (Sell Side); Arendt & Medernach, Freshfields, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Hogan Lovells (Buy Side)

La Poste Mobile sells to Bouygues for c. US$1bn
For the acquisition by Bouygues Télécom of MVNO La Poste Mobile from SFR and La Poste Groupe for c. US$1bn.
Legal advisors: De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (Sell Side)

e& PPF Telecom in E825m Serbia Broadband takeover 
For the 100% stake acquisition of United Group’s Serbia Broadband (SBB) to e& PPF Telecom for E825m.
Financial Advisors: BNP Paribas (Buy Side) 
Legal Advisors: Kirkland & Ellis, Schönherr Rechtsanwälte (Sell Side); SOG/Kinstellar, Sullivan & Cromwell (Buy Side)

e& buys E2.15bn PPF Telecom assets 
e&’s acquisitions of a 50% stake in PFF’s assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia for E2.15bn. 
Financial Advisors: JPMorgan, LionTree Advisors (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Karanović & Partners, Perkins Coie, White & Case (Sell Side); Houthoff, Schoenherr, Sullivan & Cromwell (Buy Side)

Swisscom’s c. US$8bn Vodafone Italia deal 
For the acquisition of a 100% stake in Vodafone Italia by Swisscom for c. US$8bn 
Financial Advisors: UBS (Sell Side); Deutsche Bank, Evercore, JPMorgan (Buy Side) 
Legal Advisors: ADVANT NCTM, Linklaters, Slaughter & May (Sell Side); Legance Avvocati Associati, Travers Smith, White & Case (Buy Side) 

£15bn VodafoneThree merger 
For the merger deal of Vodafone UK and Three UK, by Vodafone and CK Hutchison for £15bn. 
Financial Advisors: HSBC, Moelis & Company (Three UK); Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Robey Warshaw (Vodafone UK)
Legal Advisors: Freshfields, Linklaters (Three UK); Slaughter & May (Vodafone UK)

MEA Deal of the Year

KKR acquires Gulf Data Hub stake 
The acquisition of a stake in Gulf Data Hub by KKR.
Financial Advisors: JPMorgan (Sell Side); Jefferies, RBC Capital Markets (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Baker McKenzie (Sell Side); Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (Buy Side)

IHS Towers sells Kuwait ops for US$134m 
The acquisition by Zain Group of IHS Towers’ Kuwait operations for US$134m.
Financial Advisors: Moelis & Company (Sell Side); FTI Capital Advisors (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: DLA Piper, GLA & Company (Buy Side)

US$2.2bn Khazna Data Centers 40% stake sale 
The sale of e&’s 40% stake in G42’s majority-owned Khazna Data Centers for US$2.2bn, with MGX and Silver Lake joining as minority shareholders.
Legal Advisors: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (Sell Side); Paul Hastings (Buy Side)

Actis strikes US$370m Swiftnet deal 
The acquisition of a 100% stake in Swiftnet by Royal Bafokeng Holdings and a consortium led by Actis for US$370m.
Financial Advisors: FTI Capital Advisors (Sell Side); Clairfield, Itai Capital, Rand Merchant Bank, Rothschild & Co (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Bowmans (Sell Side); Baker McKenzie, Webber Wentzel (Buy Side)

PIF acquires 51% TAWAL stake 
The acquisition by PIF of stc Group’s 51% stake in Telecommunication Towers Company Limited (TAWAL) followed by the merger of PIF’s tower company GLIC (Golden Lattice Investment Company) into TAWAL. 
Financial Advisors: Lazard (Sell Side); Bank of America Securities (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (Sell Side); Latham & Watkins (Buy Side)

Datacentre Deal of the Year – M&A

Cordiant, TINC form c. E200m DC platform 
For the acquisition of a 47.5% economic interest (50% voting) in Datacenter United and subsequent acquisition of four Proximus datacentres to create a c. E200m platform by Cordiant Capital and TINC.
Financial Advisors: Guggenheim, ING (Sell Side); ING (Buy Side) 
Legal Advisors: Baker Mckenzie, Stibbe (Sell Side); Intui, Liedekerke (Buy Side) 

Data4 strikes E3.6bn StableCo deal 
For the minority acquisition stakes by Arjun Infrastructure Partners and Interogo Holding in a portfolio of datacentres owned and operated by Brookfield-backed Data4 (StableCo), valuing the StableCo at c. E3.6bn equity value.
Financial Advisors: Citi (Sell Side); Nomura (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Linklaters (Sell Side); Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (Buyside – Arjun Infrastructure), Kirkland & Ellis (Buy Side – Interogo) 

Asterion sells Nabiax to Aermont 
For the acquisition of the Nabiax platform by Aermont from Asterion Industrial Partners. 
Financial Advisors: BBVA (Sell Side)
Legal Advisors: Gómez‑Acebo & Pombo (Sell Side); Clifford Chance, Uría Menéndez (Buy Side) 

OpCore’s 50% stake sale to InfraVia 
For the acquisition of a 50% stake in iliad-owned OpCore by InfraVia.
Financial Advisors: Lazard, RBC Capital Markets (Sell Side); Perella Weinberg Partners (Buy Side)
Legal Advisors: Bredin Prat (Sell Side); Addleshaw Goddard, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, Linklaters (Buy Side) 

Apollo acquires STACK colocation business 
For the carve-out and sale to Apollo-managed infrastructure funds of STACK Infrastructure’s European colocation business, comprising seven datacentre assets across five European markets.
Financial Advisors: Guggenheim (Sell Side)
Legal Advisors: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, GTA (Giliberti Triscornia e Associati), WalderWyss, Schjodt, (Sell Side); Latham & Watkins, Mannheimer Swartling, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison (Buy Side) 

DigitalBridge, La Caisse acquire Yondr for US$5.8bn 
For acquisition by DigitalBridge and La Caisse of Yondr Group from Cathexis Holdings for c. US$5.8bn. 
Financial Advisors: Citi (Sell Side); Morgan Stanley (Buy Side – La Caisse)
Legal Advisors: White & Case (Sell Side); Clifford Chance (Buy Side – La Caisse), Linklaters (Buy Side – DigitalBridge)

Telecom Financing Deal of the Year

E1.5bn Orange dual-tranche bond
The issuance of a E1.5bn dual-tranche bond, including a sustainable tranche, to support the company’s ongoing financing strategy.
Bookrunners: Natixis, ING (Global Coordinators); Crédit Agricole CIB (Sustainability Structurer); CaixaBank, Crédit Agricole CIB, La Banque Postale, RBC Capital Markets, SMBC, Standard Chartered Bank AG (Bookrunners)
Legal Advisors: Not disclosed 

Proximus Group’s E750m 10-year bond
The issuance of a E750m 10-year bond to support general corporate purposes and refinance existing debt.
Bookrunners: BNP Paribas, Bred Banque Populaire, Commerzbank, KBC Bank, Morgan Stanley and Société Générale (Joint Bookrunners)
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (International)

SES issues E1bn dual-tranche senior unsecured bond
The issuance of a E1bn dual-tranche senior unsecured bond under SES’s E5.5bn EMTN Programme to support the financing of SES’s acquisition of Intelsat.
Bookrunners: Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley (Global Coordinators & Joint Bookrunners); Goldman Sachs International, ING, J.P. Morgan, Société Générale (Joint Bookrunners)
Legal Advisors: Not disclosed 

Telekom Srbija issues US$900m international corporate eurobond
The issuance of US$900m in international corporate eurobond.
Participating Banks: BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, Raiffeisen bank, UniCredit, MUFG
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (International), Gecić Law (Lead)

Fibre Financing Deal of the Year

£2.3bn CityFibre financing package 
A £2.3bn package including £500m in equity from shareholders Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Antin Infrastructure Partners, Mubadala Investment Company and Interogo Holding, £960m in super senior capex, and an £800m accordion.
Financial Advisors: Evercore Partners (Borrowers), Lazard, FTI Consulting (Lenders)
Lenders: NatWest, ABN AMRO, BBVA, Crédit Agricole CIB, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Lloyds, National Wealth Fund, SEB and Société Générale
Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Borrower); Linklaters (Lenders)

Glaspoort secures E1.2bn debt package
A E1.2bn debt package, including capex, term loan and accordion, to replace existing debt and support future rollout.
Financial Advisors: ING
Lenders: ING, ABN AMRO (Bookrunners); ABN AMRO, Coöperatieve Rabobank, ING, Goldman Sachs, KFW IPEX-Bank, LBBW, MUFG Bank Europe and UniCredit (Mandated Lead Arrangers)
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (Lenders); A&O Shearman

Open Fiber E1.05bn credit line 
A E1.05bn credit line and incremental facility on top of Open Fiber’s existing E7.2bn debt facility.
Financial Advisors: Lazard (Open Fiber); Rothschild & Co (Lenders)
Lenders: Crédit Agricole CIB, CDP, Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, BNP Paribas, ING, Santander, Banca MPS, BPER, BL, KfW (Bookrunners & Mandated Lead Arrangers)
Legal Advisors: Gianni & Origani (GOP) (Lenders)

Orange Concessions raises E1.29bn to refi existing debt
A E1.29bn raise to refinance existing debt, including a E1.23bn term loan, E60m revolving credit facility and an additional uncommitted incremental facility, to support future growth.
Financial Advisors: Société Générale
Lenders: Banco Sabadell, BayernLB, BBVA, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Crédit Agricole CIB, ING, KfW Ipex, La Banque Postale, Mizuho, MUFG, Natixis, NordLB, Société Générale
Institutional Lenders: Allianz Global Investors, Barings, Macquarie Asset Management, Sun Life
Legal Advisors: Orrick (Lenders); Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Borrowers)

US$1.2bn Światłowód Inwestycje debt package
The PLN4.4bn (US$1.2bn) debt package to refinance existing facilities including term loans, new investment financing, an EIB-supported component and both committed and uncommitted credit lines. 
Financial Advisors: ING
Lenders: Bank Pekao, BNP Paribas, Bank Polska, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, ING Bank Śląski, PKO Bank Polski, Société Générale, TFI PZU, UniCredit (Bookrunners & Mandated Lead Arrangers); Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and Santander Bank Polska (Mandated Lead Arrangers); mBank and Raiffeisen Bank International (Lead Arrangers)
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance (Borrowers); Norton Rose Fulbright (Lenders)

XPFibre’s multi-tranche E5.8bn refinancing
The multi-tranche E5.8bn refinancing, including bank facilities, inaugural institutional private placement, and capex facility to support the end of the roll-out, and a bridge-to-private placement.
Financial Advisors: BNP Paribas, DC Advisory
Lenders: BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, ING, MUFG, Natixis and Société Générale (Underwriters – report)
Legal Advisors: Latham & Watkins (Borrowers); A&O Shearman (Lenders)