Globe Telecom concluded a sale and 15-year leaseback agreement for 447 towers for PHP5.4 billion ($97.5 million) with Unity Digital Infrastructure, which committed to building more than 200 towers across Visayas and Mindanao in the south of the Philippines.

In a statement, Globe Telecom noted the close of the first group of towers is targeted in Q3, with subsequent closings happening when specific conditions are met.

The assets in Luzon comprise 84 per cent ground-based towers and 16 per cent rooftop sites.

Globe Telecom president and CEO Ernest Cu said it expects the Unity deal to help “further streamline our operations and promote technology as a tool to upgrade the standard of living across the nation especially in Visayas and Mindanao”.

Unity is a partnership between Aboitiz InfraCapital and Partners Group.

The deal brings Globe Telecom’s total tower sales to 7,506, with the proceeds to be used to finance capex and debt, the company said.

In December 2022, Globe generated PHP28 billion from the sale of  1,550 towers to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines and offloaded 701 sites to Miescor Infrastructure Development in October 2022.

Its board approved a move to sell more than 7,000 sites to three tower companies in August 2022.