JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Telco company, PT Indosat Ooredoo Tbk (IDX: ISAT), announces has signed sell and lease back agreement with PT EPID Menara AssetCo (Edge Point Indonesia) for US$750 million including additional offers, the management announced today (03/30). The cellular provider sold more than 4,200 telecommunication towers to the unit of a global digital infrastructure investor, Digital Colony.
The sale is part of the company turnaround strategy, which has refocused its business on digital products and services and strives to create optimal value from its infrastructure. Earning revenue from a portfolio of high quality telecommunications towers is a key pillar of the company’ current strategy.
President director & CEO of the provider, Ahmad Al-Neama, commented: “The agreement marks the third and final sale of Indosat Ooredoo‘ high-quality tower portfolio assets that propel us towards a leaner asset model and greater focus on delivering exceptional mobile digital services to our customers.”
Edge Point Indonesia is declared the winner of the tender from the competitive tender process conducted by the operator. Earlier, three telco operators, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (IDX: TLKM), PT Sarana Menara Nusantara Tbk (IDX: TOWR), and PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure Tbk (IDX: TBIG) has showed their interested in buying 4,000 towers belonging to Indosat.
As reported, the unit of Qatar Ooredoo Q.S.P.C., plans to releases its tower again for debt refinancing and other purposes. This transaction is expected to be completed in second quarter of 2021, subject to general conditions and shareholder approval from Indosat at the shareholders meeting on May 6.
He said, Indosat will lease the towers back for a period of 10 years to fulfill the applicable requirements. J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor to the company during the transaction.
Suresh Sidhu, CEO of Edge Point Group welcomed the transaction by saying, “This deal is one of the largest in Asia and strengthens our position as a leading tower provider in Indonesia. The addition of 4,200 towers to our portfolio will help create significant value for all of our stakeholders.”
Earlier, the telco company has sold 3,100 of its towers to PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel) and PT Protelindo, a subsidiary of Sarana Menara for Rp 6.39 trillion ($443.75 million). After the transaction, Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the Baa3 issuer rating of lndosat and has changed the outlook to stable from negative.
Indosat is an integrated telecommunications network and services provider in Indonesia. The company is the second-largest cellular operator in the country in terms of revenue and active subscribers. It also provides multi-media, data communications, and internet services. The company is 65 percent owned by Ooredoo and the rest by public.
US$1: Rp14,400
Written by Editorial Staff, Email: theinsiderstories@gmail.com
