Axicom is Australia’s largest independent mobile towers owner, operating approximately 2,000 telecommunication sites in metro and outer-metro locations across all eight states and territories, and major cities across Australia.

Macquarie Asset Management head of Asia-Pacific real assets Frank Kwok said, “We’ve been pleased with the level of interest shown in Axicom, which reflects the quality of the business, the maturity of its towers portfolio, and the long-term nature of its contracts. We are proud to have supported its growth over the past seven years and strongly believe the agreement reached represents an excellent outcome for shareholders and the future prospects of the Axicom business.

“In acquiring Axicom, ATN demonstrated extensive sector expertise and the compatibility of its existing portfolio with Axicom’s, which will provide a strong springboard for future growth.”

Macquarie Asset Management said it invested in Axicom (then Crown Castle Australia) in 2015, alongside its coinvestors, and since that time has supported the business in transitioning to Australia’s leading independent tower company, extending customer contracts, de-risking ground tenure through a 100% increase in weighted average lease length, reorientating its strategy to focus on customer experience through a digital transformation, and increasing the focus on ESG, achieving a top quartile GRESB score and releasing its first Sustainability Strategy in 2021.

Macquarie Asset Management says it has significant experience investing in telecommunications infrastructure around the world. Each year, businesses in which it manages investments reach more than ~115 million people through communications infrastructure.

This follows the sale of 49% of Telstra InfraCo Towers to consortium managed by Morrison & Co back in July last year, and the sale of a 70% stake Australia Tower Network (ATN) to AustralianSuper for $1.9 billion in October last year.

TPG Telecom as part of it's FY21 results announced that it was undertaking a strategic review of its tower assets. It then did a network sharing deal with Telstra where TPG Telecom gained access to around 3,700 Telstra sites while decommissioning 725 of its own sites, improving population coverage from 96% to 98.8%.

The mobile sector seems to be going through some rationalisation. Much of the assets they have in rural and remote areas of the country do not provide any positive return on investment, but are needed to support some degree of ubiquitous coverage. The mobile networks are also in the progress of building out 5G coverage, so require access to capital to do so, transactions such as the sale, or part sale of tower assets releases capital to fund the expansion of 5G.

If the MNOs intend to expand their fixed wireless 5G offerings in the cities with mmWave deployments, they will need capital to construct thousands of small 5G mmWave sites and cells with the associated optical backhaul. By maintaining relatively high wholesale prices NBN Co has made the business case for fixed wireless more attractive. If the ACCC determination on the SAU allows NBN to increase price annually then this comparative business case will improve further.

While the Government last week tasked the ACCC to do a review of regional tower access and the feasibility of domestic roaming in times of crisis, it seems to me to be one step behind the market and always managing consequences rather than guiding market development.

Meanwhile the mobile industry will get on with optimising and extending the use of assets in order to create value and minimise cost.