MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has received nearly P2 billion from the transfer of ownership of 159 towers to a unit of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), marking the final closing it will make for the year.
Globe yesterday informed the Philippine Stock Exchange that it took P1.9 billion in payment for the second closing of towers sold to Meralco subsidiary MIESCOR Infrastructure Development Corp. (MIDC).
Globe has secured close to P30 billion from the tower sale it signed with Frontier Tower Associates Philippines, MIDC and PhilTower Consortium Inc.
Broken down, the latest portfolio handed over to MIDC is made up of 120 ground-based towers and 39 rooftop-based units. Proceeds from the sale, according to Globe, will be used to settle its outstanding debts and pay for capital expenditures next year.
Further, Globe said it has completed the sale of more than a third or 2,410 of the 7,059 towers packaged in the agreement with tower operators.
The mobile giant said subsequent closings would be made as soon as transfer requirements are met with the target of completing all of the deals by 2023.
Globe chief finance officer Rizza Maniego-Eala said the firm eyes to monetize its passive assets as soon as possible to keep its balance sheet in the pink of health amid the high interest rate environment.
“This marks our last closing for year 2022 and as we prepare to complete the rest next year, we are pleased to see that this milestone transaction has been progressing as scheduled and that we have already raised nearly P30 billion,” Eala said.
“Monetizing our tower assets is very timely because it has allowed us to keep our balance sheet healthy amid a rising interest rate environment,” she said.
Prior to this, Globe received P19.5 billion for the transfer of 1,550 towers to Frontier Towers, the first of which in September, the second batch this December.
Likewise, the firm got P8.4 billion for the closing of 701 towers that it turned over to MIDC in October.
In August Globe decided to sell more than 7,000 towers, pocketing at least P91 billion that it plans to use to bankroll its capex and trim its debts.
By the end of the transaction, Globe should secure P45 billion from Frontier Towers, P26.2 billion from MIDC and P20 billion from PhilTower.
For next year, Globe plans to cut its capex by 30 percent to $1.3 billion, or roughly P72 billion, from a high of P89 billion in 2022.
Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said the asset sale it signed with tower operators would help the Ayala-led telco improve its war chest for network expansion in the future.