VimpelCom is in talks to sell mobile phone towers in Russia to independent towerco Russian Towers for about US$500m, according to local reports.
Amsterdam-based VimpelCom is looking at selling between 5,000 and 6,000 towers in a deal worth about…
VimpelCom is in talks to sell mobile phone towers in Russia to independent towerco Russian Towers for about US$500m, according to local reports.
Amsterdam-based VimpelCom is looking at selling between 5,000 and 6,000 towers in a deal worth about US$500m, Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the talks. Another unnamed source was cited as saying the deal would be worth between US$400m and US$500m.
A VimpelCom spokesperson said the telco is conducting a “comprehensive analysis” of the possibility of undertaking a tower infrastructure project and aims to complete this by the end of Q3. He refused to speculate on potential bidders.
The spokesperson noted that the telco is monitoring trends in global telecoms markets and looking at effective business models for tower infrastructure which help reduce costs and construction time, aid geographical expansion and increase quality for consumers at an attractive price.
VimpelCom and Russian Towers currently have partnerships in several Russian regions, including the centre, north-west and south.
Russian Towers, set up in 2009 by entrepreneurs Peter Owen Edmunds and Garth Self, leases space on each tower to multiple tenants and says it has secured lease contracts with all major mobile operators in Russia.
In February 2012, Russian Towers secured US$100m in financing from an international group of investors including Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) and ADM Capital to fund expansion.
At the time, MRIF CEO Damian Secen, described the investment case for towers in the Russian market as “compelling”, saying “[m]obile penetration is very high and there is rapidly-growing demand for reliable network coverage”.
Europe has seen several mobile tower sales in recent years. Dutch telco KPN sold towers in the Netherlands to Indonesian towerco Protelindo for €75m in October 2012 and 2,000 towers belonging to German unit E-Plus to American Tower for €393m the following month. Meanwhile, France’s Bouygues Telecom sold more than 2,166 towers to Antin Infrastructure Partners for €205m in November 2012.
