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Saudi Arabia’s three mobile operators could still combine their tower assets or seek separate sales, sources say.
Saudi Telecom Company is still considering its options when it comes to the future of its mobile towers portfolio, with a sale of the assets or a merger with rival operators still on the table, it emerged this week.
The Saudi Arabian incumbent has approached potential bidders about its towers and has also held talks with competitors Mobily and Zain regarding the possibility of combining their respective towers into a new, separate entity, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation.
Saudi Telecom has not made a final decision on which route it will take and has not brokered any agreements with any of the parties it has been in touch with, the sources said.
The future of Saudi Arabia’s mobile towers has been a subject of debate for a number of months, with all three telcos mulling their options. Mobily and Saudi Telecom have been more vocal than Zain about their plans to monetise those assets one way or another.
Six months ago local news outlets reported that the three were in discussions about the creation of a towers joint venture, but as yet nothing has come of the talks.
