Malaysian-based operator Axiata Group has officially completed the transfer of a final tranche of towers from PLDT’s subsidiaries to its unit in the Philippines, closing a deal to acquire and lease back 2,710 sites.
The company confirmed through a stock exchange filing that the transfer of 85 sites from Smart and Digital Mobile Philippines was the final batch of six under a deal signed with Smart Communications parent company PLDT in 2022 by its Philippines-based subsidiary ISOC edotco Towers. The towers enclosed in the deal are mostly situated in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Moreover, PLDT also struck an agreement with Frontier Tower Associates Philippines worth ₱12.1 billion ($220 million) in March this year, taking the total number of towers sold and leased back to over 7,500.
PLDT closed another deal with EdgePoint Infrastructure subsidiary Comworks Infratech, covering 2,934 towers. In December 2022, the company offloaded 650 sites for ₱9.2 billion ($162.4 million) to a local company backed by Aboitiz InfraCapital and Partners Group.
