Leading digital solutions platform Globe has exceeded its tower sale targets after finalizing a significant deal with Unity Digital Infrastructure. The agreement entails the sale and leaseback of 447 towers, generating gross proceeds of P5.4 billion to be paid in tranches, similar to the arrangement for other tower portfolios.

Since last year, Globe has been actively selling its non-strategic infrastructure, aiming to offload 7,000 towers in the Philippines, potentially the largest sale and leaseback transaction.

The recent contract with Unity pushed the number to over 7,500, representing the upper threshold of its divestment plan.

“At the moment, I think we have upped our tower sale. We will see if there are more opportunistic transactions for the balance year. Still, the fact that we’re at 7,509 is already over our target,” Globe chief finance officer Rizza Maniego-Eala said when asked if Globe plans to sell more towers at a recent briefing.

Including the Unity deal, the gross proceeds for all tower transactions have already reached P96.322 billion.

To date, Globe has successfully transferred 44 percent or 3,120 assets out of the 7,059 acquired by tower companies, yielding approximately P40.5 billion.

The tower sale proceeds will be utilized for Globe’s capital expenditure investments, facilitating the improvement of the company’s financial standing.

Upon receipt of all tower sale proceeds, Globe expects its Gross Debt to EBITDA ratio to be around 2.2x, aligning with pre-pandemic levels.

4 towers sold for P11B

Globe earlier raised P11 billion from the closure of four tower sales with Phil-Tower Consortium, Inc. (PhilTower). As part of this milestone, an additional 132 towers in Visayas and Mindanao were transferred to PhilTower, amounting to approximately P2 billion. Globe has successfully turned over 710 out of 1,350 buildings, accompanied by PhilTower’s commitment to construct 750 more across the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Aside from PhilTower, MIESCOR Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC) has received 39% of the 2,180 towers and related passive telecom infrastructure under the first Globe portfolio. Frontier Tower Associates Philippines (FTAP) has received 44 percent of the second portfolio, which consisted of 3,529 towers.

Globe plans to keep its strategically important towers for its operations. By focusing on these towers, the company aims to enhance its operational efficiency and ensure reliable customer service, strengthening its overall performance. Maria Romero