Qatar-based Ooredoo Group was considering offloading domestic and international sites less than two weeks after being linked with a similar move by its Indonesian joint venture, according to Reuters. Discussions were underway regarding a potential divestment of Ooredoo’s own assets, though a decision on whether to sell has not been made.
Nonetheless, such a move would fit with a global wireless industry trend of infrastructure asset disposals by mobile network operators. Such transactions have gained increased momentum in recent years as tower companies acquire towers and other communications sites then enter leaseback deals with the former owners.
Between its wholly- and partly-owned operations, Ooredoo has businesses across 10 markets in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and North Africa. This figure includes a soon-to-be disposed of unit in Myanmar where Ooredoo has agreed to sell that operation to Singapore-based Nine Communications.
Speculation on Ooredoo’s tower assets follow rumors about a potential sale of an 1,800-tower batch held by Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, its joint venture with CK Hutchison in Indonesia, as Bloomberg reported. The cash from any sale there was said to be earmarked for LTE network improvements in the country.
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