Helios Towers has agreed to acquire Omantel’s passive tower infrastructure portfolio of 2,890 sites, for a cash consideration of USD575 million. This represents an enterprise value of USD615 million including the group’s estimate of transaction costs and capitalised ground leases of USD40 million. The assets are expected to deliver revenues of USD59 million and Adjusted EBITDA of USD40 million in the first full year of operations with further growth anticipated through the rollout of 300 build-to-suit (BTS) sites, which will be deployed over the next seven years, with anticipated investment of USD35 million.
It is anticipated that the transaction will close before the end of 2021, subject to approval by Helios Towers’ shareholders and customary completion conditions, including approval from the Telecoms Regulatory Authority of Oman. Helios Towers notes that it has already received irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the acquisition from shareholders representing over 50% of its issued share capital at the time of announcement.
As a result of the transaction, Helios Towers – which currently operates in a number of African markets – will establish its presence in the Middle East region for the first time.