PTI to acquire 3,800 WOM sites in Chile for US$930mn

Tower operator Phoenix Tower International (PTI) will invest US$930mn to acquire up to 3,800 telecommunications sites in Chile from telecom operator WOM.

PTI will acquire approximately 2,334 tower sites at the initial closing and 1,466 additional sites by 2024.

After completion of the transaction, PTI will become the largest communications tower owner in Chile.

The towerco has “strong relationships with all four Mobile Network Operators” in Chile, Dagan Kasavana, CEO of PTI, said in a release.

Chile is one of the countries with the lowest rates of tower tenancies, where only one in every five towers is used by more than one operator.

“[This deal] enables us to strengthen our investment in Chile, particularly expanding 5G coverage from Arica to Punta Arenas over the next several months, as well as expanding coverage into rural areas of the country by delivering upgraded connectivity and contributing to a reduction of the digital gap,” WOM CEO Sebastian Precht said in a separate release.

In April, former WOM CEO Christopher Laska told BNamericas that 5G networks cover 99 municipalities in the country, home to around 8.3mn people. The company aims to increase coverage by 177% by the end of the year. 

The deal with WOM also helps expand PTI’s global presence to more than 22,000 towers in 19 countries.

Shylesh Moras, PTI’s senior VP of operations, told BNamericas in March that the firm’s built-to-suit plan this year targets around 300 new sites, of which 95-99% will be in Latin America. Around 200 of those are going to Altice in the Dominican Republic as part of a multi-year agreement. 

PTI had around 9,000 sites in Latin America as of March.

The WOM-PTI transaction will be funded partly by a financing facility led by Scotiabank and supplemented by affiliates of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ares Management Corporation. 

The deal is expected to close in 3Q22, after the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.