Latham Advises GIP and KKR in Co-Control Partnership With Vodafone To Invest in Vantage Towers

Latham & Watkins has advised Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and KKR in connection with a strategic co-control partnership with Vodafone to invest in Vantage Towers, a leading telecoms tower company in Europe. Additional funding for the transaction was provided for by Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Vodafone and a consortium of long-term infrastructure investors led by GIP and KKR have created a joint venture (JV) which will hold at least 81.7% stake in Vantage Towers. Together, GIP, KKR, and Vodafone will provide deep infrastructure expertise to help advance the company’s strategic plans.

The transaction is conditional on regulatory clearances and expected to close in the first half of 2023.

The Latham team was led by London M&A partner John Guccione, Düsseldorf M&A partner Tobias Larisch, and London finance partner Conrad Andersen, with finance partner Steve Curtis, counsel Lucas Schweitzer, and associates Katie Peek, Kit Adamson, Alexander Pfeifer, Alexander Belk, Steffen Augschill, Ivo Wanwitz, and Lorenzo Pistoresi. Advice was also provided on finance matters by London partner Seonaid Todisco and Hong Kong counsel Lynsey Edgar, with London associates Michaela Schmiederova and Evan Whyte; on real estate matters by Frankfurt partner Otto von Gruben and counsel Sven Nickel; on antitrust/FDI matters by Frankfurt partner Max Hauser and Hamburg counsel Jana Dammann de Chapto, with Frankfurt associate Anne Haas; on tax matters by Hamburg partner Tobias Klass; and on employment matters by Munich associate Kristina Hufnagel.