Linklaters and Latham & Watkins have advised on the creation of one of the Philippines’ largest independent telecoms tower companies following a combination between Phil-Tower Consortium and Miescor Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC).
Telecoms lawyers at major local law firms have labelled the expected expansion of data connectivity across the country following the combination as key to driving inbound investment in digital infrastructure.
“This combination is the first of its kind in the Philippines’ independent tower market and will pave the way for further digitisation and development in the region,” said Singapore-based corporate partner and global tech sector leader Niranjan Arasaratnam, at Linklaters.
Together with Linklaters’ Singapore-based Asia head of TMT Adrian Fisher, Arasaratnam co-led a cross-practice team acting for Macquarie Capital, which has been a shareholder in PhilTower since 2021, in the combination.
Also as a party to the Phil-Tower Consortium, Global Network was advised by a Latham team led by Singapore-based corporate partner James Clayton-Payne.
The new entity, which is owned by a consortium of international and local investors including Macquarie, Stonepeak, Manila Electric Company and Global Network, boasts a portfolio of over 3,300 operational towers across the country, according to Macquarie Capital.
With data centres and business process outsourcing companies being heavy reliant on internet connectivity, the presence of additional telecommunications tower infrastructure raises hopes for more foreign direct investments in the creation of such facilities, Chrysilla Carissa Bautista, an M&A and TMT partner at ACCRALAW, has told Asia Business Law Journal.
“This will mean more robust competition among telcos, [internet service providers], and even real estate developers,” said Bautista.
Mark S Gorriceta, the managing partner and head of the corporate, banking and finance and TMT groups of Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra in Metro Manila, has said that the Philippine Competition Commission’s approval of the Phil-Tower-MIDC combination highlights the regulatory endorsement of the sharing of passive or non-electronic telecoms infrastructure such as towers.
“By allowing multiple mobile network operators to lease towers, the deal will result in a more open market, which will promote both local and foreign investment in digital infrastructure,” said Gorriceta.
