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Zain KSA seals transfer of its telecom towers to PIF-led group

By Pramod Kumar
Office Building, Building, Architecture Zain KSA
Zain's group HQ in Shuwaikh, Kuwait. Under the deal, Zain KSA will own 20% of the newly formed Golden Lattice Investment Company

Mobile telecommunications company Zain KSA has transferred ownership of its unit Zain Business to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, enabling the sale of its towers infrastructure.

PIF has changed the unit’s name to Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLI), the telco said in a statement published on the Saudi exchange, or Tadawul.

The sale of 8,069 tower assets to a PIF-led consortium was agreed in February, with the deal valued at $806.4 million (SAR3.03 billion).

As part of the asset purchase agreement, Zain KSA will receive a cash amount of SAR2.42 billion and a 20 percent stake in GLI.

Under the agreement, all the units need to be transferred to GLI within 18 months of the financial completion. The deal states that financial completion will be triggered when 3,000 units have been transferred.

The telco signed a shareholders’ agreement whereby the Saudi sovereign wealth fund will own 60 percent, Zain KSA (20 percent), Prince Saud bin Fahad (10 percent) and Sultan Holding Co. (10 percent).

The statement said the transaction will result in a gain of up to SAR1.1 billion, adding Zain KSA will work with all the parties to complete the remaining phases of the transaction.

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