Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) has entered into an agreement to acquire 51% of the shares of Telecommunication Towers Company Limited (TAWAL) from Saudi Telecommunications Company (stc Group). This is reported in the press release of the stc Group.
The transaction value is $5.85 billion.
PIF and stc Group intend to merge TAWAL and Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLIC) into a new combined company, which will become the largest regional company in the telecommunications infrastructure sector of Saudi Arabia..
PIF, which is the majority shareholder of GLIC, will become the owner of 54% of the shares of the combined company, stc Group - 43.1%, and minority shareholders of GLIC will own the remaining shares.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals and meeting the usual closing conditions.
The deal is an important milestone in the development of the telecommunications sector in Saudi Arabia and the region as a whole. Combining the assets of GLIC and TAWAL will create a consolidated platform for the development of the telecommunications industry Saudi Arabia and improve the efficiency of the operation of telecommunications towers.
In addition, the deal is in line with PIF's strategy within the framework of the Saudi Vision 2030 program aimed at accelerating the digital transformation of the Saudi economy and the region as a whole, as well as stc Group's plans to develop and optimize value through capital recycling while maintaining ownership of strategic value-added assets in order to expand activities in new areas.
PIF and stc Group expect to significantly improve the quality of customer service and network coverage, as well as increase mobile Internet speed by consolidating TAWAL's assets in Saudi Arabia.
Previously, TAWAL acquired infrastructure assets in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, becoming the largest independent telecommunications company in the region. The combined company will own 30 thousand mobile communication towers with annual revenue of $1.3 billion.
TAWAL is the largest telecommunications infrastructure company in Saudi Arabia and one of the largest in the region. ,
PIF is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total assets worth $430 billion. The fund was created to invest funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia and includes 200 assets, 20 of which are listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in projects and provides medium- and long-term loans to large public and private industrial companies in the field of telecommunications, aerospace, energy and green technologies.
STC Group offers fixed and fixed infrastructure, mobile and data services, as well as broadband and cloud computing services, online payments, telecommunications, IOT, 5G, electronic games, cybersecurity and fintech services in Saudi Arabia Arabia, the Middle East and Europe.
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