stc says United Group SPA includes 6,875 sites in 3 countries

stc logo

stc announced that the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) signed by its subsidiary, Telecommunications Towers Co. (TAWAL), to acquire a portfolio of tower assets from United Group includes 6,875 sites in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia.

Of the total, 4,821 sites are existing and 2,054 new will be deployed, the telco said in a statement to Tadawul.

The deal’s cash consideration will depend on the terms set forth in the SPA, pertaining to debts, cash and the working capital, and the deal will be financed from bank credit facilities, the statement added.

stc indicated that the tower assets were recently carved-out from United Group in the three countries and, therefore, no historical financial data is available.

The deal aims to support TAWAL’s infrastructure expansion plans through entry into global markets, and adds three new states to TAWAL’s international footprint, in addition to the outstanding operations in Pakistan.

This would render a relevant positive financial impact as TAWAL will take over the three entities and, accordingly, their financial results will be consolidated into TAWAL’s financial statements and later in stc’s financial statements upon the completion of the transaction.

The SPA would be subject to a number of pre-closing conditions, including but not limited to obtaining the approval of the competent authorities in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, in addition to other regulatory and commercial conditions.

The deal included no related parties, and any material developments will be announced in due course, the statement added.

stc Group, the leading digital enabler in the region, recently announced entry into European markets through TAWAL, which signed an agreement to acquire a portfolio of tower assets from United Group for EUR 1.22 billion (nearly SAR 5 billion) as the telecom operator expands globally.

These sites will be leased for 20 years for United Group to provide telecom services and TAWAL will deploy over 2,000 additional towers.