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Saudi Telecom Company (stc) said its subsidiary, Telecommunications Towers Co. (TAWAL), signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire three tower companies in Eastern Europe for 1.22 billion euros ($1.35 billion).
The SPA for the towers in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia was signed last week with the United Group, a multi-play telecoms and media provider in south-east Europe, STC said in a regulatory filing on Tadawul on Tuesday.
The transaction, which translates to around 5 billion Saudi riyals, will be in cash and funded through bank loans.
Following the acquisition, TAWAL will own 4,821 telecommunications sites across the three countries with plans to roll out another 2,054 new sites. This acquisition supports TAWAL's international expansion, in addition to those it currently operates in Pakistan.
In October last year, STC received a non-binding offer from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to acquire 51% of the shares of TAWAL, while the telecoms group maintaining 49% stake. TAWAL was valued at SAR22 billion.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
