The telecom transactions landscape: who buys what, and why

Telecom M&A isn't one market — it's several, stacked on top of each other, each with a different buyer, a different reason to invest, and a different definition of a good deal. This map lays out the stack from towers to software, and who's actually active at each layer today.

The stack

Ordered from the most physical, capital-intensive layer to the most software-defined. Buyer types and rationale shift as you move up it.

Layer
Typical buyer Deal rationale What’s happening now
Layer 5

Software & API monetisation

Software/PE growth investors, telcos building platform businesses
Margin expansion and platform economics; smallest cheque sizes, highest growth multiples
Still the least consolidated layer; a handful of platform plays but no dominant category winner yet
Layer 4

Connectivity services (eSIM & MVNO)

Telcos (capability acquisition), fintechs/travel platforms (organic entry), growth investors
Distribution and capability, not physical assets; eSIM provisioning and MVNE/MVNO enablement sit here
More activity via funding rounds and organic build (Revolut, Klarna launching mobile) than trade M&A so far — e.g. Tata Communications' acquisition of eSIM provider Oasis Smart SIM vs. Airalo's $220m growth-equity round
Layer 3

Data centres

Infrastructure PE, hyperscalers, sovereign wealth funds
AI/cloud compute demand; platform-building for scale, not single-site acquisition
Multi-billion-dollar platform deals (Blackstone/AirTrunk, Bain's Hscale) continue at pace through 2026
Layer 2

Fibre infrastructure — access/FTTH, metro, long-haul backbone and subsea cables

Infrastructure funds and pension capital for access/terrestrial transport; hyperscalers, PE continuation vehicles and sovereign capital for subsea specifically
Inflation-linked, multi-decade returns across the layer, treated like a utility asset; subsea additionally carries growing strategic/national-security weight
FibreCo structures (JV or full carve-out) remain the dominant access financing route; subsea is consolidating fastest of the three, e.g. TIM's sale of its Sparkle subsea unit to Italian state and Retelit interests
Layer 1

Towers

Infrastructure PE, dedicated TowerCos
Long-dated, contracted cashflows attract a lower cost of capital than the operator carries
Continued operator carve-outs in emerging markets, e.g. MTN Group's tower portfolio consolidation with IHS
Physical, capital-intensive, infrastructure-fund territory
Strategic & transitional — capacity with national-security overtones
Services & software — capability and distribution, least consolidated