Philippines’ mobile leader Globe Telecom will sell 5,709 cellular towers for USD1.28 billion to two local companies – Frontier Tower Associates Philippines (FTAP) and Miescor Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC). Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) represented Globe Telecom, while Gibson Dunn advised MIDC and Skadden assisted FTAP.
HSF’s team in Singapore was led by partners Mark Robinson and Jamie McLaren, with assistance from counsels Victor Chiew and Kathryn Thornton, senior associate Theodore Heng and associate Pamela Wong. Kuala Lumpur-based associate Audrey Siew also helped with the transaction.
FTAP will acquire 3,529 mobile towers and MIDC will buy 2,180.
“The Philippines telecoms market has undergone significant changes over recent years, with the introduction of a new mobile network operator and the establishment of an independent mobile towers market,” said Robinson of HSF. “It has created significant opportunities for international investors as well as local companies.”
Gibson Dunn’s team in Hong Kong was led by partner Connell O’Neill and included partners Patricia Tan Openshaw and Sébastien Evrard, and associates Nate Hancock, Nick Hay and Han Yaqi. Associates Eliza Teo in Singapore and Charles Osborne in London also assisted on the deal.
Skadden’s team was led by partners Jonathan Stone in Hong Kong and Rajeev Duggal in Singapore.
Globe also announced the sale of a further batch, representing the largest mobile towers transaction in the country. As part of the transaction, the parties executed a master lease agreement, under which Globe will be the anchor lessee of the telecom towers for an initial period of 15 years.
