Zain Saudi Arabia revises its telecom tower deal with IHS

Zain Saudi Arabia has revised its deal to sell its mobile towers to IHS Holding for SAR 2.52 billion or $672 million from the earlier transaction valuation of SAR 2.43 billion.
Zain revenue detailsSultan bin AbdulAziz AlDeghaither, CEO of Zain KSA, and William Saad, COO of IHS Holding signed agreement — at the headquarters of Zain KSA in Riyadh.

This is IHS Towers’ second announced telecom tower deal in the Middle East after entering into an agreement with Zain Kuwait in October 2017. The deal with Zain Kuwait was the first sale and lease back deal for mobile telecommunication sites in the region by a licensed mobile operator.

Zain KSA has more than 8,100 mobile towers in prime and strategic locations across Saudi Arabia. IHS is the largest independent tower operator in Europe, Middle East and Africa based on the number of telecom towers. IHS is the third largest independent multinational tower company globally.

Zain KSA is selling its passive, physical infrastructure to IHS and will retain its intelligent software, technology and intellectual property with respect to managing its network.

Zain KSA will sell 8,100 towers with a lease back period of 15 years, with a 5-year renewal option. Furthermore, the agreement includes the building of an additional 1,500 new towers over the next 6 years.

Zain KSA will use sales proceeds to reduce financing, thus reducing funding burdens, and allowing the Zain KSA team to invest and focus on the delivery of more data monetization initiatives and customer services.