Saudi Telecom Group (STC) has ended talks with French-Israeli tycoon Patrick Drahi to buy Altice Portugal after a disagreement over the price, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reported. STC, which is owned by Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, had offered $8.7 billion for Altice Portugal. The company is Portugal’s largest telecom service provider with 9.6 million copper and fiber passings, and 12 million mobile subscribers under its MEO brand, according to Inside Towers Intelligence.
The talks to buy Altice Portugal broke down after two weeks of discussions on the final price, AGBI reported. Terminating the deal poses a minor setback in the Saudi company’s expansion plans. Last month, STC also initiated talks to buy the Dutch telecom and pay-TV operator United Group for a similar price of $8.7 billion, including debt. STC, in September 2023, acquired a 9.9 percent stake in Spain’s Telefonica for nearly $2.3 billion as part of its global expansion drive, Inside Towers reported.
El Economista reported in April of this year that STC and PIF were considering a joint bid for the 4,639 towers in the Austrian unit of Barcelona, Spain-based Cellnex Telecom (OTC: CLNXF), which is Europe’s leading tower company, according to Inside Towers Intelligence.
STC and PIF are also creating a new telecommunications infrastructure company, which is expected to have 30,000 towers and estimated annual site leasing revenues of $1.3 billion as a result of the two entities acquiring Saudi Arabia-based tower company, Tawal, in April, Inside Towers reported. PIF will buy STC’s stake in Tawal for $2.3 billion as part of the deal which includes towers in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia that Tawal acquired from United Group in 2023, Inside Towers reported.
To complement its infrastructure holdings, in February, STC subsidiary Arabian Internet and Communications Services Company – known as Solutions – bought a 40 percent stake in regional IT consultancy company Devoteam Middle East for nearly $198 million, according to AGBI.
By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor
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