PLDT telecom has sold 3,012 towers
3 June 2022
Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc., both subsidiaries of PLDT telecom, announced they had finalized the sale of 3,012 of the 5,907 telecom towers and had received payment of P39.2 billion. The framework agreements for the leaseback arrangements for those towers went into force the day the sale was completed.
This purchase by multinational telecom towers operator symbolizes the largest-ever acquisition of assets in the Philippines by international investors, demonstrating the country’s resilience in the face of the pandemic and its long-term economic possibilities.
This ground-breaking project also helps the Department of Information and Communications Technology achieve its goal of increasing tower density, which will result in considerable signal efficiency and increased connectivity throughout the Philippines.
Last April 19, 2022, PLDT telecom stated that its subsidiaries, Smart and Digitel, had signed sale and purchase agreements in connection with the sale of 5,907 telecom towers and related passive telecom infrastructures to subsidiaries of TowerCos EdgePoint and Edotco for P77 billion.
Of the 5,907 towers, 2,973 towers located primarily in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will be acquired by edotco subsidiary ISOC edotco Towers Inc. and 2,934 towers located in Luzon will go to Comworks Infratech Corp., a subsidiary of EdgePoint.
PLDT telecom said the winning bidders, which were selected following a stringent process, are backed by international groups with extensive experience in the telecom towers space.
The remaining unsold telecom towers will be turned over in the coming months, according to the timeframe set forth in the sale and purchase agreements. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Our TowerCo partners, selected after a thorough process, will provide the group with the infusion of global best practices and innovative solutions. PLDT is now even better positioned to continue our journey towards service excellence and best-in-class customer experience, making us the telco of choice in the Philippines,” PLDT and Smart president Alfredo Panlilio said.
“These telecom towers company are backed by international groups with extensive experience in the telecom tower space in the region and their entry in the Philippine market significantly jumpstarts our common tower industry. This transaction is a triumph of the DICT’s policy promoting the sharing of telecom infrastructure through the establishment and use of common towers by the telecoms companies and internet service providers,” DICT Secretary Emmanuel Rey Caintic said.
“The edotco Group and the EdgePoint Group will bring global best practices and technologies in operating telco tower infrastructure nationwide and is a much-awaited development for NTC since it would translate into better connectivity for telco subscribers and ensure higher resilience and faster recovery from typhoons and other calamities,” NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said.
