Globe tower sale, leaseback deal with Unity Digital nears conclusion

Cell tower. – Globe Telecom Inc.’s P5.4-billion tower sale and leaseback deal with Aboitiz-backed Unity Digital Infrastructure is nearing the conclusion following another closing round, cashing in P228 million. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Globe Telecom Inc.’s P5.4-billion tower sale and leaseback deal with Aboitiz-backed Unity Digital Infrastructure is nearing the conclusion following another closing round, cashing in P228 million.

In a disclosure on Friday, the Ayala-led company said they had concluded the sixth closing, transferring 19 towers to Unity.

In all, Globe has turned over 326 out of the 447 towers sold in May 2023.

This is just one of the company’s several tower sale deals. Globe sold a total of 7,506 tower assets for P96.4 billion to several tower companies.

The sale and leaseback of tower assets are also in line with the government’s tower-sharing initiative, which seeks to beef up connectivity across the country.

READ: Globe earns P300 million from tower sale

Tower-sharing enables operators to expand their footprint across the country without putting up more facilities, which can also be cost-effective for them. Instead, operators will lease the towers from the independent tower companies that allow multiple users at a time

A 2022 study by independent tower company Edotco Group and management consultancy firm Roland Berger estimated that local telco players could save up to $1.15 billion in capital and operational expenditures until 2025 through tower-sharing.

Proceeds from the tower sale will fund its expansion and debt payments.

Globe has set its capital expenditure guidance at $1 billion this year, which will be funded via internal cash flow, proceeds from tower sales and debts. By 2025, the company targets to cut down spending to below $1 billion.

READ: Globe, Frontier Tower soon to wrap up P45-billion deal

The telco giant spent P41 billion in capital expenditures in January to September to fund the expansion of its telco infrastructure. It built 684 new cell sites and upgraded 2,723 existing mobile sites.

Globe also deployed an additional 378 5G sites. As a result, the 5G coverage in the National Capital Region has reached 98.51 percent. 5G, which enables faster internet connection, is also now available in 94.91 percent of key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The company saw its nine-month net income grow by 6 percent to P20.6 billion, thanks to total revenues growing by 2 percent to P124 billion. The earnings were driven by mobile data revenues rising by 9 percent to P72.9 billion as Filipinos increasingly use their cellphones to access the internet.