PLDT Inc. agreed to sell a portfolio of telecommunications towers to a firm backed by KKR & Co. for over P12.1 billion, as part of a program to divest digital infrastructure assets.
Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Mobile Phils. Inc., two subsidiaries of the Philippines-based telecom and digital services provider, will sell 1,012 towers and associated infrastructure to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc., according to a statement Friday confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
“This transaction cements our relationship with one of the largest independent tower companies in the country, providing the group with another important partner to support our expansion, while unlocking additional value,” PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement.
The deal adds to PLDT’s program to shed digital infrastructure. The company divested two portfolios of towers in April for about $1.3 billion to units of Edotco Group Sdn. and EdgePoint Infrastructure. PLDT was considering selling an additional 2,000 towers, Bloomberg News reported in October.
The company, which has a market value of about $5.1 billion, is backed by Japan’s Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. and Hong Kong-based investment firm First Pacific Co., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The transaction would be Frontier’s second telecom towers deal in the Philippines in less than a year. Globe Telecom Inc. in August announced a deal to sell two portfolios of towers to Frontier and a Stonepeak Partners joint venture for about $1.3 billion. Bloomberg News
