Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering a final bid for network towers sold by Qatari telecom firm Ooredoo.
According Bloomberg, informed sources said the PIF expressed its keenness to be among the suitors for the Qatari telecom and submit offers for the final purchase competing with American Tower Corp, IHS Holding, and Helios Towers.
Ooredoo announced its revenues at the end of October amounting to $2.4 billion, a four percent increase compared to last year.
Capital spending during the period amounted to $1.6 billion, while free cash flow increased three percent and reached $800 million, driven in particular by a decrease in capital spending.
Last August, Ooredoo launched its new brand positioning and tagline, "Upgrade Your World," which revolves around enabling human progress, reflecting the company's commitment to improving and never standing still.
In September, the group signed an agreement to sell its Myanmar unit to Singapore vehicle Nine Communications, with an enterprise value of $576 million, subject to the customary closing conditions, including Myanmar regulatory approvals.
Earlier, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently announced that PIF had established five regional companies in Arab countries, with a value of $24 billion, to contribute to supporting innovative initiatives and stimulating the capabilities of regional countries.
Prince Mohammed, the PIF Chairman, announced that the Fund would establish five companies to invest in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Sudan.
The Fund disclosed its plans during the second day of the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative recently held in Riyadh, in the presence of a group of investors, innovators, and world leaders.
The companies aim to invest up to $24 billion in opportunities across various key sectors in each market.
The companies will invest in various vital sectors, including but not limited to infrastructure, real estate development, mining, healthcare, financial services, food and agriculture, manufacturing, telecoms, and technology, among other strategic sectors and industries in each country.
The establishment of the five new companies will contribute to an increase in regional investment opportunities for PIF's portfolio companies and Saudi Arabia's private sector, bolstering attractive financial returns over the long term and creating more avenues for strategic economic collaboration with the private sector in the target countries as well as enabling the Saudi private sector.
