Globe Telecom Inc. on Tuesday bared transferring 4,467 towers to three telecom tower companies worth P57.4 billion as of December this year.
The Ayala-led telco said it sold a batch of 79 towers to Unity Digital Infrastructure (Unity) for P948 million in cash.
The transaction is the final closing for 2023 and marks the third tranche of the 447 sale-and-leaseback deal with Unity and the transfer of ownership and management rights of 249 towers or 56 percent of the towers sold.
With the closure, Globe has officially turned over ownership of 4,467 of the 7,506 towers sold, raising P57.4 billion, or 60 percent, of the tower deal.
Apart from Unity, Globe sold its tower portfolio to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc., Phil-Tower Consortium, Inc. and MIESCOR Infrastructure Development Corporation.
This year alone, 1,301 towers were transferred in the first half and another 756 towers in the second half, gaining over P27 billion in proceeds.
“We have made significant progress with our tower deal today, transferring more than half and reaching 60 percent of our overall tower deal,” Rizza Maniego-Eala, Globe chief finance officer, said.
“This recent transaction with Unity marks our last closing for the year 2023 and we look forward to completing our landmark tower sale next year. We believe that the undisrupted services to our customers with the successful handover of the tower assets to the tower companies are proof of Globe’s strong commitment to service excellence,” she added.
Ernest L. Cu, Globe president and chief executive said, “Solving our customer’s connectivity needs and supporting their digital lifestyle have always been at the heart of what we do. Working together and finding all means to supplement our tower builds through continued partnership with the tower companies will add resiliency and stability to Globe’s expanding network.”
“We believe that our continued collaboration with the tower companies is crucial in helping us fund our various innovations to expand our digital portfolio, enhance customer experience, and bring connectivity across all islands in the country,” he added.
