AT&T Inc. has agreed to a sale-leaseback of its remaining domestic company-owned wireless towers to Peppertree Capital Management. Under the terms of the sale, which is valued at up to USD680 million, Peppertree will purchase more than 1,000 AT&T towers, and AT&T will lease back capacity on the towers from Peppertree. The sale is consistent with AT&T’s plans to monetise non-strategic assets as it continues to pay down debt. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including due diligence. AT&T expects to close a substantial number of the towers by the end of the year.
In a second notable strategic divestment, AT&T has agreed to sell Central European Media Enterprises (CME) to an affiliate of Petr Kellner’s PPF Group in a cash transaction valued at approximately USD2.1 billion. CME is a media and entertainment company operating leading businesses in five Central and Eastern European markets – Bulgaria, Czechia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – with an aggregate population of approximately 45 million people. AT&T inherited the stake in CME when it acquired Time Warner in June 2018.