Macquarie to sell Arqiva stake for US$971-M

Hampshire, U.K., October 1, 2013 — Sydney-based Macquarie Group Limited ,  a global investment banking and diversified financial services company, is reported to be auctioning off its 25 percent stake in Arqiva, a telecommunications company that provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. 

Macquairie, according to Financial Times, is anticipating GBP 600 million (US$971.17 million) for the stake.

Canadian pension funds, which include PSP Investments and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), have been named as the most likely suitors. CPPIB already holds 48 percent stake in Arqiva.

Canada’s pension funds are reportedly interested on the Arqiva stake in their quest for higher returns amid historically low interest rates.

Arqiva runs the majority of the UK’s broadcast transmitter sites, as well as Freeview/DTT multiplexes, mobile transmitter masts and satellite uplink facilities. Arqiva’s main customers are broadcasters and mobile phone network operators, and its main asset is a network of over 1,000 radio and television transmission sites. It is also a shareholder in YouView.

Major UK broadcasters, such as the BBC, ITV and BSkyB, as well as independent radio groups, depend on Arqiva to keep them connected to their customers. Arqiva provides connectivity for leading UK mobile network operators and many emergency services operators. It also distributes content and data to homes across the length and breadth of the UK and keep British troops overseas in touch with their favorite football teams via live Sky Sports feeds.

Arqiva has a rich history, having provided the transmission capability for the UK Government’s first budget broadcast since 1928. The company is behind the first satellite TV tests in Great Britain in 1978. Its ‘firsts’ include the world’s first digital terrestrial TV launch in 1998 and the world’s first outsourced mobile phone network in 2001.

Arqiva currently has more than 2000 employees and earns revenues of more than GBP 800 million (US$1.295 billion).