Ooredoo preparing to sell 20,000 towers

Qatar-based telecoms group Ooredoo indicated in a stock exchange statement today that it aims to sell around 20,000 of its cellular network towers across several countries, stating that it is ‘preparing for a potential carve out of its tower portfolio to extract optimal value for its infrastructure.’ Reuters quoted anonymous sources close to the matter as saying that Ooredoo has engaged Morgan Stanley to explore a deal involving a tower sale-and-leaseback arrangement in Gulf Cooperation Council countries (which could include Qatar, Kuwait and Oman) and other markets including Iraq and Algeria. The sources claimed that the process has reached a second stage of bidding, ahead of potential binding bids from investors. The report adds that Ooredoo ‘might package the deal in more than one bundle to separate investors because it could be difficult to find one buyer for the entire portfolio owing to the nature of the markets and their respective risk premiums.’