Veon Limited, a Dutch-based telecommunications network operator, is close to selling its tower assets in Pakistan to a consortium led by local player TPL Corporation and UAE-based TASC Towers Holding Ltd., in what could be the country’s largest transaction in over ten years.
Veon’s 10,000-12,000 towers in Pakistan may be sold in the coming weeks, with the deal potentially worth more than $600 million.
The TPL-TASC group has emerged as the most likely buyer, having beaten out rival bidders including other telecom companies.
If the towers are sold, it will be the largest transaction in Pakistan since 2011. Deliberations are still ongoing, and the companies may still opt out of a deal.
In an interview last month, Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu stated that the divestment was “very close to completion,” without naming a bidder.
A unit of Saudi Telecom Co. and Pakistani conglomerate Engro was also among the bidders for the assets, according to the report.
Buyer Description
In September, Pakistan’s TPL announced a strategic partnership with TASC to bid on an unnamed telecom tower company.
GPS tracking, insurance, venture capital, and security services are among TPL’s operations. TPL Properties Ltd., its real estate arm, raised approximately $697 million rupees ($3 million) in an initial public offering in Karachi in 2016.
TPL REIT Management Co. is attempting to raise up to $500 million via a private real estate investment trust, which could be one of the largest fundraising efforts in the country’s history.
Veon began in 1992 in Moscow as VimpelCom, one of Russia’s first cellular phone providers. Since then, it has grown into a Dutch-domiciled telecommunications behemoth with over 217 million customers across nine countries. It is Pakistan’s largest telecommunications company.
Last year, Veon sold over 15,000 towers in Russia to Service-Telecom LLC for approximately $970 million. Terzioglu told Bloomberg News in August that the company has about 30,000 more towers to sell and is in talks with buyers in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
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