PLDT Inc. yesterday said it has received P39.2 billion as partial payment for the sale of its telecom tower assets.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, PLDT said its subsidiaries Smart Communications Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. have successfully achieved first closing by completing the sale of 3,012 telecom towers, representing more than half of the towers being monetized and receiving the corresponding cash consideration of approximately P39.2 billion.
The first closing was achieved in less than one and a half months from the signing of the sale and purchase agreements of the PLDT units with the subsidiary of EdgePoint and a subsidiary of edotco for the sale of 5,907 telecom towers and related passive telecom infrastructure for a total of P77 billion.
The transaction involves the sale of 2,934 towers located in Luzon to Comworks Infratech Corp., subsidiary of EdgePoint, for P35 billion and 2,973 towers located primarily in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to ISOC edotco Towers Inc. for P42 billion.
PLDT said the master service agreements signed with the tower companies, whereby Smart has agreed to lease back the towers sold for 10 years, also became effective starting yesterday.
PLDT foresees additional closings in the next few months with the final closing expected by the fourth quarter.
Upon completion of the transaction, the two tower companies will become the largest common tower operators in the country.
