Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is among suitors weighing a final bid for the mobile network tower assets put up for sale in September by Qatar-based telecoms group Ooredoo, reports Bloomberg citing anonymous sources ‘familiar with the matter’. Other potential bidders looking at Ooredoo’s portfolio of around 20,000 towers reportedly include American Tower Corp, IHS Holding and Helios Towers, according to the sources, who roughly valued the assets at between USD3 billion and USD5 billion.
The potential deal with PIF could be the latest sign of thawing international relations following Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s long diplomatic crisis and trade embargo of 2017-2021, with PIF also considering an investment in Qatari broadcaster BeIn Media Group, Bloomberg reported last month.
Note that in late October PIF placed a bid for the towers business of Saudi Telecom Company.