TPG sells towers, rooftop sites for $950 million

TPG Telecom has announced it is selling its passive tower and rooftop infrastructure to OMERS Infrastructure Management, for $950 million.

As well as 1237 existing mostly metropolitan sites, the sale will cover a committed “build to suit” development program covering 252 new sites, TPG’s ASX announcement said.

The company said the price reflects the importance of the tower assets in “supporting the projected growth and densification requirements of the industry”.

The sale follows a strategic review into the towers, launched by TPG in August 2021.

TPG Telecom CEO and managing director, Iñaki Berroeta, said: "We are delighted to have concluded the strategic review of these assets with such a strong outcome for TPG Telecom shareholders.”

Berroteta added: “It builds on the landmark multi-operator core network (MOCN) agreement we announced in February of this year to enable regional network sharing with Telstra (subject to regulatory approval).”

Divesting the towers would make them more attractive to other carriers looking for colocation sites.

The sale includes a 20-year master services agreement, TPG said, with an option to extend.

The infrastructure includes 428 towers and 809 rooftops, representing around 21 percent of TPG’s mobile network footprint.

There are also 120 non-metro sites. If the ACCC approves the long-term agreement with Telstra announced in February, TPG equipment at those site will be decommissioned.