Ashurst advises Equitix on acquisition of stake in Cornerstone

Global law firm Ashurst has advised Equitix on the acquisition of an 8.33% minority stake in mobile tower joint venture Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (“Cornerstone”) from Virgin Media O2.

The transaction will see Equitix acquire a 16.66% stake in a holding company that indirectly owns 50% of Cornerstone. Under the ownership structure, Virgin Media O2 will continue to proportionately consolidate Cornerstone as a joint operation. Completion of the transaction is subject to the finalisation of certain conditions.

Cornerstone is the UK’s largest mobile towers business, which was established in 2012 and has the highest density of towers in the UK. With two market-leading anchor tenants, Cornerstone owns and manages a nationwide network of around 20,000 sites used by Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone UK, providing critical services for approximately 60% of UK mobile subscribers.

This strategic investment underscores Equitix’s commitment to expanding its digital infrastructure portfolio and supporting the UK’s telecommunications sector, meeting the growing demand for high-speed data and communication services. The addition of this investment will increase Equitix's portfolio to over 23,000 towers located across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

The Ashurst team was led by corporate partner Jason Radford, supported by counsel Andrew Briggs and associates Rebecca Karpin and Elnaz Cadogan. Partner Laura Ho and associate June Tong advised on the finance aspects of the transaction and partner Alison Hardy advised on regulatory/property matters. The wider team included digital infrastructure counsel Rebecca Clarke and associate Hana Byrne and tax counsel Mark Spinney.