UPDATE Helios Towers (OTC: HTWSF) is in the final stages of completing its deal to acquire passive infrastructure assets from Oman-based mobile network operator Oman Telecommunications Company. It said that the requisite regulatory closing conditions had been satisfied, Mobile World Live reported.
Helios Towers will take over Omantel’s passive infrastructure portfolio of 2,890 towers, initially for 15 years, in a $575 million deal, in what the infrastructure company claims is a significant growth opportunity in the Middle East. The Omantel deal is part of Helios Towers’ push into Middle Eastern markets and delivering on its geographic expansion targets through to 2025.
In June, Helios Towers attracted local investment fund Rakiza Telecommunication Infrastructure to take a minority stake in a new venture formed to house the infrastructure assets that Helios Towers is buying from Omantel. Rakiza agreed to acquire a 30 percent stake in the holding company for $172.5 million, or a 30 percent share of the overall $575 million purchase price.
Once the Omantel deal closes, it will add to Helios Towers’ African portfolio of 10,872 tower assets in Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Ghana, South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar, and Malawi. Helios Towers’ growth strategy revolves around buying towers held by a single MNO in each of its target markets then providing shared infrastructure services to all MNOs in those markets. The tower company expects the deal to close around the end of November, more than a year-and-a-half after the agreement was struck.
Reader Interactions