Globe said Monday it received P1.9 billion from MIESCOR Infrastructure Development Corp. for the sale of 159 telecom towers.
The company said with the latest closing, it turned over 860 of 2,180 towers to MIDC. The recently-turned over tower assets included 120 ground-based towers and 39 rooftop towers.
The total transaction with MIDC amounted P26 billion for the 2,180 telecom towers. The towers will be leased back to Globe for an initial period of 15 years.
The telecom unit of the Ayala Group said proceeds from the sale of the towers would be used to pay down debt and capital expenditures to support the ongoing network expansion.
Globe already completed 34 percent of the sale or 2,410 towers of the total 7,059 transferred to the tower companies. Subsequent closings will happen as and when closing conditions are met but Globe expects the final closing for all the three portfolios to happen within next year, it said.
“This marks our last closing for year 2022, and as we prepare to complete the rest next year, we are pleased to see that this milestone transaction has been progressing as scheduled and has already raised nearly P30 billion,” said Globe chief finance officer Rizza Maniego-Eala.
“Monetizing our tower assets is very timely because it has allowed us to keep our balance sheet healthy amid a rising interest rate environment,” she said.
Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said the partnerships with the tower companies would help enhance the company’s capital expenditures and tower builds.
“This latest milestone in our collaboration with Globe brings us closer to realizing our shared mission of improved internet connectivity which is essential in our post-pandemic economic recovery,” MIDC president Helen Grace Marquez said.
“This will eventually help us achieve our vision of becoming a major provider of sustainable digital infrastructure in the Philippines,” she said.
