Engro Connect | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: In a first-of-its-kind move, Engro Connect has acquired all 10,500 telecom towers owned and managed by Jazz. After obtaining approvals from relevant regulators, including the Competition Commission of Pakistan, and clearing all cases in the Islamabad High Court, the $560 million deal has materialised. Jazz, the largest telecom operator in the country, has become the first telecom to offload all of its telecom towers. Deodar, the cell-site tower management subsidiary of Jazz, has been sold to Engro Connect. However, Jazz will pay rent for all the cell sites installed at these towers to Engro Connect, a subsidiary of Engro Corp. Move to establish ‘cells’ of multiple telecom operators at a single tower The deal was one of the most significant private-sector infrastructure transactions in the country’s digital evolution. Jazz was currently using around 14,500 telecom towers; other tower companies, including Engro Enfrashare, the largest independent tower infrastructure company in Pakistan, and Edotco m...