An announcement has been made by edotco Group S Malaysia's biggest mobile operator owned by Axiata and Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited, Pakistan's top listed investment conglomerate that together they are taking ownership of 13,000 towers of Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited, Jazz. The proposed acquisition of 13,000 towers from Pakistan Mobile Communication Ltd will lift edotco Group's assets to 40,000 towers across Southeast Asia and South Asia, Axiata Group Chief Executive Jamaludin Ibrahim said at a news conference. The purchase will make edotco the eighth-largest independent tower company globally, up from the 11th now, with a portfolio of approximately 40,000 towers across Asia. "With DH Corp as our partner, we are confident in the potential of the market in Pakistan and will continue to demonstrate our long-term commitment to supporting the development and enhancement of the country's telecommunications infrastructure", he said. The proposed deal follows edotco's recent acquisition of Tanzanite Tower Private Ltd and its 700 towers in June. The towers transaction will be on a cash- and debt-free basis, for a total consideration of PKR 98,700 million (approximately United States dollars 940 million). "It also allows Jazz to focus on its journey to becoming an innovative digital lifestyle partner". "The acquisition of Deodar is a critical part of our growth strategy and ambition to position edotco as the leading independent telecommunications infrastructure services provider in Asia", edotco CEO Suresh Sidhu said in a statement on Wednesday. In the agreement, it is stated that 45% equity stake will be with Dawood Hercules Corp while the rest 55% control will be of edotco. Since previous year, Axiata sold about a third of its stake in edotco through a share placement deal to raise $700 million. The initial term of this MSA is twelve years and is renewable at Jazz's discretion for three consecutive periods of five years each. Global Telecom Holding's stake in Jazz will be approximately 83 percent as a result of the terms of the Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited/Warid earn-out agreement. Still Axiata remains the largest shareholder in edotco Group with a 62.4% stake, while the new shareholders collectively hold 37.6%. Shares of the company rose 1.7 percent on the national stock exchange on Wednesday. Newburgh Gazette http://newburghgazette.com/2017/08/31/axiata-to-buy-pakistan-telecom-towers-for-rm4-bil/
Source: http://newburghgazette.com/2017/08/31/axiata-to-buy-pakistan-telecom-towers-for-rm4-bil/