PLDT closes first tower deal for PHP 39.2 billion

PLDT Inc. announced the completion of its first tower sale involving a total of 3,012 telecom towers.

File photo: local telco player PLDT

PLDT sells over 3,000 towers

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the telco said this was done through its subsidiaries Smart and Digitel, where they received the corresponding cash consideration of approximately PHP 39.2 billion.

As the largest ever acquisition of assets in the Philippines by international investors, this investment by international tower operators represents a strong endorsement of the country’s recovery from the pandemic and its long-term growth prospects, PLDT said.

The number of towers sold represents more than half of the tower assets being monetized, PLDT noted.

It added that the master services agreements covering the leaseback arrangement for those towers became effective.

This came only a month after PLDT revealed its plan to sell 5,907 telco towers and related passive telecom infrastructure to foreign tower companies, edotco Group, and EdgePoint.

This pioneer undertaking also supports the Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology’s goal of improving tower density which will lead to significant efficiencies and improved connectivity across the Philippines, PLDT said.

The group said it expects additional closing in the next few months, with the final closing completed by the last quarter.

Source: PSE