As reported by sources to Reuters, the deal is rumoured to be worth over $500 million as comes as Oman a leading producer of crude, seeks to raise funds as Covid-19 and low oil prices has impacted its finances.
One of the bidders is comprised of Omani infrastructure fund Rakiza, which is backed by Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, which has partnered with IHS Towers.
The second bidder is Oman Towers and the last being Helios Towers.
The bids, which include approximately 3,000 towers, are expected to be responded to by Thursday 17 December, added sources close to the matter.
The news comes as telcos as increasingly disposing of its tower assets. In 2017, Zain agreed to sell and leased the passive physical infrastructure of its mobile tower portfolio in Kuwait to IHS Holding. The $130 million deal closed in February of this year.
The deal was to result in a newly formed entity that will acquire and manage Zain’s tower assets in Kuwait, with Zain holding a minority share in the new company.
In related news, in December 2019 Oman Tower Company signed memorandum of understanding agreements to build, lease and manage tower assets for Omantel and Ooredoo.
All of which formed part of the government's efforts to unify the inactive communications infrastructure in the sultanate as it looks to introduce 5G mobile services in the country before 2020.
