Sidley advised EdgePoint Infrastructure (EdgePoint), a leading Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)–based independent telecommunications infrastructure company backed by DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE:DBRG), a leading global digital infrastructure investment firm with over US$45 billion in assets under management, on its initial investment in the Philippines market. The investment involved the acquisition by Comworks Infratech Corporation (EdgePoint Philippines) of 2,934 telecom towers in the Luzon Island group, Philippines, from Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) and Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), and the leaseback of the telecom towers by Smart from EdgePoint Philippines. The sale and purchase agreement was signed on April 19, 2022.
EdgePoint Philippines is a joint venture of EdgePoint, SMS Global Technologies Inc, and Comworks Inc. Smart and DMPI are wholly owned subsidiaries of PLDT Inc., the Philippines’ largest integrated telecommunications company.
This landmark deal forms part of a dual disposal by Smart and DMPI of a total of 5,907 telecom towers representing the largest-ever acquisition of assets in the Philippines by international investors. This latest deal cements EdgePoint’s position as the fastest-growing towerco in ASEAN, with a portfolio of 13,000 towers upon closure of the deal and one of the largest common tower operators in the Philippines.
The Sidley team was led by Charlie Wilson (partner) and included Ji Ung Kim (counsel), Jeremy Chase (counsel), and Moses Tan (managing associate).
