Islamabad April 28 2024: Engro Corporation tower deployment slowed down during the 1Q due to acquisition of Telenor Pakistan business by PTCL.
Tower deployment slowed down during the period due to consolidation of the MNOs from four to three. Enfrashare continued to expand its footprint and achieved a scale of 3,977 tower sites with a 1.22x tenancy ratio, capturing 53% market share. Additionally, 103 new colocation tenants were added during the period, where Enfrashare captured 56% of the market share.
The bottom line of the business was impacted due to higher interest rates given its capital structure. The business is rigorously pursuing various options to mitigate this risk in the future, including hedging mechanisms and reassessment of its capital structure.
To recall, Pakistan Telecommunication Company entered into Share Purchase Agreement with the shareholders of Telenor Pakistan (Private) limited (TPL) for the acquisition of 100% shares of TPL, based on an Enterprise Value of PKR 108bn on a cash free, debt free basis . International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved the debt financing up to US$ 400 million to PTCL for acquisition of Telenor Pakistan Limited.
