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Frankfurt / Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The radio tower division Vantage Towers of the British telecommunications group Vodafone got off to a good start on Thursday in a very friendly environment.

The first Xetra price of EUR 24.80 was more than three percent above the issue price of EUR 24.

Overall, it brought Vantage Towers from a standing start to a market value of a good 12.5 billion euros.

The British mobile operator Vodafone is bringing up to 95.8 million shares - or just under 19 percent of its radio tower division - to the market, including the over-allotment option.

Should the first new shareholders exercise their right to additional shares in full, Vodafone will receive a total of 2.3 billion euros in gross proceeds, as the telecommunications group announced.

According to earlier statements, Vodafone also wants to use the money to reduce debt.

The company headquarters of Vantage Towers is - like that of the Vodafone German subsidiary - in Düsseldorf.

One will drive the digital transformation of Europe, said the head of Vantage Towers, Vivek Badrinath, at the stock exchange launch.

"We are opening a new chapter in the history of our company."

Vodafone will still have the say after the radio tower company's IPO, after all, the group holds more than 80 percent of the company.

The English company name takes up the word «advantage», and «vantage» means viewing platform.

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In view of the low interest rates, radio towers are considered an attractive investment for professional investors such as insurers and financial investors who are interested in a stable return on location rents.

It is about 82,000 radio towers and roof sites in 10 European countries, including Germany.

The network operators - including Vodafone - pay rent for their use.

The antennas come from the network operators themselves and not from Vantage Towers.

Competitors are taking a similar route.

For example, Telefónica Deutschland sold its mobile network locations to Telxius last year in order to cope with the expensive expansion of the mobile network.

This is also the case with Vodafone - the network for the 5G mobile communications standard requires high investments.

Vantage Towers is the largest IPO so far this year in Frankfurt.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210318-99-871564 / 2

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