SINGAPORE: TPG is pursuing a deal to create the biggest independent owner of telecom towers in Myanmar, people with knowledge of the matter said, as mobile-phone usage soars in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Apollo Towers Myanmar Ltd, which is backed by the US private equity firm, is seeking to merge with rival Pan Asia Majestic Eagle Ltd, according to the people.
TPG plans to become the majority shareholder of any combined entity, which would have more than 3,000 towers and an enterprise value of at least $700 million, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
TPG teamed up with former LightSquared Inc CEO Sanjiv Ahuja to form Apollo Towers in 2014, with its growth-equity unit investing about $40 million, Bloomberg News reported at the time. The deal was the first foray in Myanmar by a big-name U.S. private equity firm since the country emerged from military rule.
Since then, the airwaves have been opened to foreign investors, and now almost everyone in the country has a phone with internet service.
A combination of Apollo Towers and Pan Asia would become the country’s biggest independent owner of wireless infrastructure with more towers than Irrawaddy Green Towers Ltd, the people said.
Better coverage
There’s no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction, and any deal would need regulatory approval, according to the people.
TPG declined to comment in an emailed statement. A person who answered the phone at Apollo Towers’s office said nobody was immediately available to comment. An official at Pan Asia didn’t immediately answer a phone call and messages seeking comment.
Myanmar Investments International Ltd, which trades on London’s AIM venue for small-cap listings, is also an investor in Apollo Towers, according to its website.
Frost & Sullivan Inc said last year it expects consolidation in the growing Myanmar tower market, which needs to add as many as 8,000 new sites to provide full coverage. About 77% of people in Myanmar had wireless service last year, up from 1.1% in 2010, according to United Nations data.
Edotco Group Sdn, controlled by Malaysia’s biggest wireless carrier, has said it expects to increase the number of its towers in Myanmar to 5,000 by around 2023.