Globe Telecom Inc. on Tuesday said it has closed the deal for the sale of an initial tranche of 800 towers to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc. for P10 billion.
The company said the deal was accomplished after just over a month from the signing of the milestone sale and leaseback transactions for the first two tower portfolios in August. The 800 towers are part of the 3,529 towers to be acquired by Frontier Towers.
Globe also said the portfolio sold to MIESCOR Infrastructure Development Corp. on August 11 is expected to close within the next few weeks.
The company said it will make relevant announcements in accordance with the rules of the Philippines Stock Exchange as and when appropriate.
“We are happy that we have attained the first closing for the biggest ever tower sale in the Philippines. This deal brings financial resources that will strengthen our balance sheet and provide sufficient flexibility to properly compete in this dynamic market,” Globe CFO Rosemarie Maniego-Eala said.
“We look forward to the continued partnership and cooperation with Frontier Towers, which we believe will lead to significant overall operational efficiencies and improvement in the country’s connectivity needs,” Ernest Cu, Globe president and CEO, said.
Patrick Tangney, Chairman and CEO of Frontier Towers, said hailed the closing of the deal, which was attained in close collaboration with Globe.
“The official handover of this first batch of towers is an important step in our strategic partnership and journey towards delivering stronger connectivity and sustainable, inclusive economic growth to the people of the Philippines.”
In February, Globe announced that it has allotted a budget of P89 billion for its capital expenditures (capex) for the year. The amount is 4 percent lower than the P92.8 billion it spent in 2021.
Globe said the money will be used to more cell sites, upgrade existing ones, deploy 4G and 5G radios, and add more fiber lines across the country.
Last year, the company aggressively expanded its fixed line and wireless networks, building 1,407 new cell sites, upgraded over 22,300 mobile sites, installed more than 2,000 5G radios, and installed 1.4 million fiber-to-the-home lines.
Globe also reported that it netted P23.7 billion in profits last year, a 27-percent increase from P18.6 billion the year prior.