Thursday, Feb 02, 2012
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Abu Dhabi's Emirates Telecommunications Co., or Etisalat, the Middle East's biggest telecom provider by market value, said Thursday it may sell the mobile phone towers it owns in Africa and consider infrastructure sharing with other operators.
The company, like other telecom firms in Africa, is constantly evaluating good business opportunities which includes but not limited to infrastructure sharing with other operators, Etisalat said in an emailed statement.
People familiar with the matter told Zawya Dow Jones on Wednesday that Etisalat is looking to sell the mobile phone towers it owns in Africa, a process that could raise up to $600 million.
"We would like to emphasize that no final decision has been reached at this point in time as selling or sharing towers. The assessment of this subject is at a preliminary stage and final decision is subject to the approval of the Board of Directors," Etisalat said in Thursday's statement.
The possible sale of mobile towers comes amid a wider trend of mobile-tower sharing that analysts expect to kick off in the Middle East. Financial services firm KPMG estimates total industry savings in terms of capital expenditure resulting from tower sharing in the Middle East and Africa could amount to as much as $8 billion.
Etisalat shares closed up 0.1% at AED9.44 Thursday.
-By Shereen El Gazzar, Dow Jones Newswires; +971 444 61684; Shereen.elgazzar@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-02-12 1219GMT
