Bahraini incumbent Batelco has decided against selling towers in Bahrain and Jordan, CEO Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa said in an interview with TelecomFinance. Al Khalifa argued that sale and leaseback proposals do not create sufficient and…
Bahraini incumbent Batelco has decided against selling towers in Bahrain and Jordan, CEO Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa said in an interview with TelecomFinance. Al Khalifa argued that sale and leaseback proposals do not create sufficient and long-term economic value.
It had been reported previously that Batelco was looking to offload some towers to raise funds for future acquisitions.
But Al Khalifa said now that “tower companies have specific rates of return which they wish to achieve for the funds they wish to pay an operator and charge for future towers.” Batelco, however, had the ability to raise funds at much lower rates than tower companies due to its unleveraged balance sheet, he argued. Therefore, lease back arrangements could not be justified.
Instead, Al Khalifa said that infrastructure sharing is a priority for the company as it helps create value by reducing capex and opex.
The full interview will be available in the next edition of TelecomFinance magazine due 18 May.
