Telecom Tower Infrastructure accepts acquisition offer from Pakistan's TPL RMC

The parent company of Telecom Tower Infrastructure Company (TTIC), which owns and manages around 10,500 operating towers in Pakistan, has conditionally accepted the offer of a consortium comprising Pakistan’s TPL REIT Management Company Limited (TPL RMC) in partnership with TASC Towers (TASC), a UAE-based mobile telecom tower operator, for the acquisition of TTIC.

TPL Properties, the parent company of TPL RMC, shared the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.

“We are pleased to announce that the parent of one of the largest telecom tower operators in Pakistan, has conditionally accepted the offer, subject to signing of definitive agreements, all necessary corporate approvals and receipt of relevant regulatory approvals, made by our subsidiary TPL REIT Management Company Limited in partnership with TASC Towers for acquisition of their subsidiary (Telecom Tower Infrastructure Company) which owns and manages more than 10,500 telecom towers in Pakistan,” read the notice.

Last month, TPL RMC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TPL Properties Limited, along with TASC Towers submitted a firm bid for the acquisition of TTIC. TPL RMC entered into a strategic partnership with TASC Towers in September for the acquisition of a telecom tower infrastructure company.

Earlier Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Veon Limited, a Dutch-domiciled multinational telecommunication services company, is close to selling its tower assets in Pakistan to a consortium comprising Pakistan’s TPL Corp and TASC Towers Holding Limited.

The acquisition of towers could become Pakistan’s largest deal in more than a decade, said the report.

It had said that the discussions were at an advanced stage and the transaction, which involves Veon’s 10,000 to 12,000 towers in Pakistan, could be announced in the coming weeks. The deal could fetch more than $600 million, according to the Bloomberg report.

TPL REIT is the first and largest Shariah-compliant Development Impact REIT Fund in Pakistan and its eventual size is envisaged at Rs80 billion, which will be raised from local and international investors.

Meanwhile, TASC, headquartered in the UAE, is a leading global operator of mobile telecom towers and has deployed and is managing over 14,000 towers in multiple geographies.