TPL Properties inches closer to acquiring mobile tower company

TPL Properties Ltd said on Tuesday it has come close to concluding a deal to acquire a mobile infrastructure company. The parent entity of a large telecom tower operator has “conditionally accepted” the offer that a consortium led by its subsidiary TPL REIT Management Company has made for the purchase of 10,500-plus cellular sites in Pakistan. Even though the official announcement didn’t mention the transaction size, a source privy to the development said it’ll be worth “Rs100 billion-plus”. A mobile infrastructure company owns and/or operates purpose-built towers with communication equipment that allows area residents to use wireless devices. TPL Properties made no reference to the name of the counterparty, but a recent report by Bloomberg News quoted Veon Ltd CEO Kaan Terzioglu as saying that the global company that operates under the brand name of Jazz in Pakistan was trying to sell its mobile towers. The news story put the transaction size between $600 million and $960m based on the fact that a single tower was valued at around $60,000-$80,000.