Qatar’s Ooredoo, Zain and TASC in ‘exclusive talks’ to combine 30,000-strong tower assets
Qatari telecommunication giant Ooredoo has entered into exclusive talks with Kuwait’s Zain Group and Dubai-based TASC Towers Holding to create the region’s biggest tower company, said a joint statement by the three companies on Monday.
If the deal goes through, the three entities will ‘combine their approximately 30,000 telecommunication tower assets in Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq and Jordan into a jointly owned independent tower company in a cash and share deal.’
The statement said the three operators were aiming to sign definitive agreements during the third quarter of this year, thus making it the biggest company in the Middle East and North Africa region.
In September 2022, Ooredoo had said it was looking to carve out 20,000 of its towers without elaborating on the plans.
Ooredoo and Zain Group will keep their respective active infrastructure including wireless antennas, intelligent software and intellectual property to manage their networks.
“This transaction will create a potential shareholder value uplift for both Ooredoo Group and Zain Group through a more efficient capital structure,” said the statement.
Gulf telecom companies, like their counterparts around the world, have been divesting their tower assets to reduce infrastructure costs and focus on information and communications technology.
Such deals have also been attracting specialised tower operators looking to enter new, high-growth markets.
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