Wireless digital telecommunication network VEON (Jazz’s parent company) is in advanced discussions to sell its power assets in Pakistan, according to a report published on Tuesday. Depending on interest rates, VEON owns 10,000 to 12,000 towers in Pakistan, each of which is worth roughly $60,000 to $80,000.
It has been suggested that the TPL-TASC combination has emerged as the most likely buyer, having beaten out other telecom corporations and other competitors. If the towers are sold, it will be the largest transaction for Pakistan since 2011. The corporations are still deliberating, and they may decide against a deal.
Without naming a bidder, VEON CEO Kaan Terzioglu stated in an interview last month that the divestiture of Jazz Towers was “very close to completion.” A unit of Saudi Telecom Co. and the Pakistani company Engro were also among the bidders for the properties, according to the article.
VEON is a communications network that was developed in 1992 in Moscow. Since then, it has grown into a global communications behemoth headquartered in the Netherlands. It has more than 127 million customers in nine countries, according to the record.
Currently, the corporation is unquestionably the largest operator in Russia, and the selling process has only began. The share price of the company has plummeted by two-thirds this year due to the numerous repercussions of the Ukraine conflict. In addition, VEON sold 15,000 towers in Russia to Service Telecom LLC for roughly $970 million in the previous year.
In addition, Kaan Terzioglu, chief executive officer of VEON’s group, reportedly stated that the sale process is nearing completion. Saudi Telecom Co.unit, a partnership comprised of Pakistan’s TPL Corp and UAE-based TASC Towers, and Pakistani giant Engro are among the tower bidders, according to the article.
During talks with key ICT industry players, the VEON delegation emphasised that a healthy and stable telecom sector, the basis of a country’s digital ecosystem, feeds nearly all sectors of the economy and is a precondition for the continual development of user service quality.
However, the telecom industry’s financial health has recently been impacted due to an unprecedented rise in the cost of operations: primarily fuel, electricity, interest rates, constantly increasing USD-pegged spectrum instalments, and most recently severe damages caused to critical digital infrastructure by floods to the point where it now threatens the telecom sector’s very survival.
However, VEON and Saudi Telecom representatives declined to comment. The TPL-TASC consortium and Engro representatives did not react quickly to a request for comment. None of the corporations responded and provided an appropriate statement regarding the proposed transaction.
In addition, it is important to note that TPL REIT Management Company Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TPL Properties Limited. To enter into a strategic partnership with TASC towers of the United Arab Emirates. To purchase a Telecom Tower Infrastructure Company via an Infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).
TPL Properties Limited owns the TPL REIT Management Company Limited in its entirety. As a consortium, TPL RMC and TASC participated in an auction to buy the greatest number of Telecom Tower Infrastructure Company shares through an Infra REIT. This objective was to obtain the necessary clearances and approvals from regulatory agencies.
In 2017, VEON and Global Telecom Holdings (GTH) reached an agreement to sell their tower business in Pakistan for around $940 million. According to the agreement, the Malaysian doctor group’s power-running company Tanzanite and Dawood Hercules Corporation would acquire VEON and GTH’s Pakistani affiliate. Including Jazz and its wholly-owned tower company, Deodar, which possessed a portfolio of more than 13,000 Jazz towers. Unfortunately, the companies are waiting to see if they acquire the necessary regulatory permits to close the proposed acquisition.
VEON sold around $970 million worth of towers in Russia to Service-Telecom LLC last year. In August, Terzioglu told Bloomberg News that the company has around 30,000 more towers to offer and is in talks with potential purchasers in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
