The board of Brazilian operator TIM Brasil has given management the green light to dispose its towers.
The telco said it had received proposals for the sites and would now review them, “aiming to create more value for the asset and at the same time to…
The board of Brazilian operator TIM Brasil has given management the green light to dispose its towers.
The telco said it had received proposals for the sites and would now review them, “aiming to create more value for the asset and at the same time to improve the efficiency of the company”.
TIM has a portfolio of around 7,000 towers across the country and last November its parent, Telecom Italia (TI), was reported to mandate Morgan Stanley to sound out interest in the sites.
Selling towers in Brazil would follow in the footsteps of rivals Oi, Vivo and NII Holdings, which have all sold sites to towercos.
US companies American Tower and SBA Communications are the two largest independent towercos in Brazil and both remain acquisitive. Smaller rival BR Towers has also been looking to snap up sites.
Recent tower deals in the country have seen prices per site range from US$100,000 to US$320,000, based upon the last four significant publicly-disclosed transactions.
At the same board meeting the operator was authorised to participate in Brazil’s 700 MHz spectrum auction. The ‘beachfront’ frequencies are set to be auctioned by regulator Anatel in August or September and are suitable to use for 4G services.
Last year Telefonica took control of TI’s controlling shareholder, Telco. The Spanish incumbent’s investment in TI has posed problems in Brazil, where the two operators are invested in the nation’s two largest mobile operators: Vivo and TIM.
The Brazilian antitrust regulator has told Telefonica that it must either reduce its stake in Telco or find a new partner to take control of Vivo. This has led to speculation that TIM’s assets could be acquired jointly by Vivo and the two other main operators in the country, Claro and Oi. However, TI has said it is looking to keep hold of the unit.
