GLOBE Telecom on Friday said it closed the sale of 154 telecommunication towers to Miescor Infrastructure Development Corp. (MIDC), a subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for a total of P1.85 billion.
MIDC has now acquired a total of 1,348 towers from Globe for an aggregate sum of P14.23 billion.
In August 2022, Globe agreed to a sale-and-leaseback agreement on all its 5,709 telecommunications towers and relative passive infrastructure in two deals worth a total of P71 billion.
Under the agreement, 2,180 towers were to be sold to MIDC for P26 billion while the remaining 3,529 towers were to go to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc. for P45 billion.
"This transaction will allow Globe to efficiently raise capital, redeploy capital from passive infrastructure to active equipment, improve balance sheet health, and leverage expertise of tower companies," Globe said at the time.
Globe expects to recognize an estimated post-tax gain of P13.5 billion from the transaction.
As this developed, the telco also said that it had significantly expanded its 5G footprint across the Philippines and globally with 894 new sites as of the end of last year, a major step toward enhancing digital connectivity and empowering Filipinos worldwide.
In 2023, Globe said it achieved 97.90-percent outdoor coverage in the National Capital Region and 92.36 percent in key cities across the Visayas and Mindanao, resulting in firm logging over 5.8 million devices connected to its 5G network in December 2023 alone.
The telco said it "strategically moderated" its spending on new 5G sites, considering current market conditions and the search for viable use cases that fully harness the potential of 5G technology, reflecting a commitment to not only advance technology but also ensure its sustainable and strategic deployment.
Globe also said that it had expanded its 5G roaming partnerships, now encompassing 156 global partners across 82 destinations.
The telco claimed that it now had the "most extensive presence" in Africa with the addition of Nigeria in partnership with MTN, Mauritius via Cellplus, and an anticipated collaboration with Kenya through Africell.
In Asia, Globe extended its reach to Kazakhstan and Laos via partnerships with Tele2 and LaoTel, respectively.
Globe said it had also established 5G roaming partnerships in Germany with Emnify and E-Plus Mobilfunk, Hong Kong through China Unicom, Korea via LG Uplus, Malaysia in partnership with Cellcom and YTL, Norway through Mobile Norway, Sweden with Tele2 and COM4, and Thailand via DTAC.
Additionally, international visitors in the Philippines can enjoy 5G speeds through collaborations with international networks such as Dialog in Sri Lanka, Orange in Egypt and Manx Telecom in the Isle of Man.
Globe shares closed down P53, or 3.01 percent, on Friday at P1,710, outpacing a 2.09-percent plunge for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index. TMT
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