Dubai (Reuters) – TAWAL, a unit of Saudi Telecom Company (stc) (7010.SE), agreed to buy tower infrastructure worth 1.22 billion-euros ($1.34 billion) from United Group in its first foray into Europe’s telecoms market, the southeast European firm said on Thursday.
TAWAL, a tower infrastructure unit that STC carved out in 2018, will buy the mobile infrastructure unit of United Group in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, which has more than 4,800 towers, United Group said in a statement.
The acquisition “supports stc Group’s ambitious strategy to expand its international footprint in key markets with significant growth potential,” stc, majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund, said in a statement.
United Group, backed by private equity firm BC Partners, said it was TAWAL’s first investment in Europe’s telecoms sector.
“Upon completion, TAWAL’s operations in the European market will be rebranded as “TAWAL Europe” and will serve as TAWAL’s platform for any future expansion in Europe,” stc said.
