Business

Zain, Ooredoo to explore merger of vast telecom tower assets

 
Leading telecom services group Mobile Telecommunications Company (Zain Group) and TASC Towers Holding Company, a regional telecom tower giant, have announced that they will enter into exclusive negotiations with Ooredoo Group to explore a merger of their sizable telecom tower assets.

The announcement came in a filing by Omantel, which as a minority stake in Zain, to the Muscat Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The proposed merger will encompass the telecom tower assets of Zain and Ooredoo subsidiaries in Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, and Jordan to create a jointly owned and independent tower company.

The official disclosure emphasizes the significance of this strategic move within the telecommunications sector. The parties anticipate the signing of definitive agreements in the third quarter of 2023.

Dubai-based TASC Towers is the largest independent towerco in the MENA region. Founded in 2003, the company has since evolved into a fully-fledged towerco where it finances, builds, owns and operates passive digital infrastructure including towers, rooftop sites, energy assets, fibre and more. TASC also develops long term relationships with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). TASC currently manage its own portfolio of over 10,000 towers.

While majority owned by Zain Group, TASC Towers continues to operate as an independent entity with a board consisting of non-Zain Group majority members and an independent management team.