Mobily hopes to put its recent financial woes behind it by selling its cell tower portfolio for up to US$2 billion.
Unnamed sources said in a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday that the Saudi operator has sent letters inviting interest from international tower companies and private equity firms. It has hired New York-based TAP Advisors to manage the sale.
According to the sources, Mobily owns approximately 10,000 towers in Saudi Arabia and hopes the sale will raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.
The reported sale plans come as Mobily and its controlling shareholder, U.A.E.-based Etisalat, aim to move on from an embarrassing accounting saga.
In April, Mobily appointed a new CEO, Khalifa Al Shamsi. He replaced Khalid Omar Al Kaf, who was suspended in November 2014 after the operator restated earnings announcements dating back to 2013 as a result of accounting errors related to a loyalty programme and its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service.
Meanwhile, Mobily is not the only Middle Eastern telco reviewing its tower operation.
In January, Kuwait-based Zain admitted it was exploring the possibility of selling its towers. Sources said at the time that its 8,000-strong portfolio could fetch as mu ch as $2 billion.
However, there has been no update from Zain since then, which could mean the sale plans are on ice.
