Seeking to further expand data-related offerings and repay debts, Globe Telecommunications, one of the Philippines’ major telecommunications providers, will be selling 5,709 cellular towers for PhP 71 billion (USD 1.28 billion). Among the buyers reported are Frontier Tower Associates Philippines (a unit of KKR-backed Pinnacle Towers) and a joint venture between Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and US’ Stonepeak
According to Globe, the towers will be leased for at least 15 years with 3,529 towers going to FTAP and 2,180 towers going to the joint venture between Meralco and Stonepeak. Both Master Lease Agreements will total 2.56-billion-peso pretax gain for Globe. The company is also talking with another company for a potential sale and lease-back of an additional 1,350 towers which will total to 7,000 towers that Globe owns besting previous tower transactions made by rivals such as PLDT Telecommunications which sold 5,907 towers to Edotco Group and EdgePoint of Malaysia for PhP 77 billion (USD 1.33 billion).
Globe’s tower assets for sale are made up of 79% ground-based towers and 21% rooftop towers, of which 66 are located in Luzon, 19% in Mindanao, and 15% in the Visayas region. It expects to close the first part of the sale by the third quarter of 2022. In 2017, the Philippine government has pushed for the establishment of independent mobile towers market to improve connectivity in the country.
(Source: Nikkei Asia, DealStreet Asia)
