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American Tower and MTN in Uganda JV
12 December 2011
New joint operation with American Tower will take over MTN’s 1,000 base stations in Uganda
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MTN
American Tower
tower sharing
ATC
Uganda
infrastructure shaing
American Tower and MTN have entered an agreement to set up a new joint venture tower company in Uganda, which will acquire MTN’s existing estimated 1,000 tower sites in the country for around $175 million.
The new venture, ATC Uganda will be managed by American Tower and will be controlled by a holding company in which American Tower will hold 51% and MTN the other 49%. American Tower will pay around $89 million for the stake in the new holding company, while MTN Uganda will be the anchor tenant, on commercial terms, on each of the towers purchased.
American Tower expects the new JV to build around 280 tower sites for MTN Uganda over the three years.
The new venture is also expected to build tower sites for other operators in Uganda. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2012, following which ATC Uganda will become the largest tower operator in the country.
Jim Taiclet, chairman, president and CEO of American Tower, said: “Our strategy is to invest in select African markets with strong wireless growth potential and a positive investment climate. In addition, we are building upon our partnership with MTN in Ghana where our tower expertise and focus on delivering growth and value from the asset portfolio, are highly complemented by MTN's regional operational experience.”
MTN’s president and CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa, said: “Infrastructure sharing makes absolute sense for MTN and we expect it to play a significant role in reducing our long-term infrastructure costs. The Ugandan market has presented us with an opportunity to continue to build on our strong working relationship with the experienced team at American Tower.” GTB
Further reading from Global Telecoms Business:
Comcast sets up tower company 29 Sep 2011
Reliance wants $5bn for tower unit stake 22 Aug 2011
American Tower to buy 2,000 Colombian towers 19 Jul 2011
American Tower buys Ghana towers 06 Dec 2010
American Tower buys in South Africa 08 Nov 2010