KUALA LUMPUR: Edotco Group Sdn Bhd, the tower infrastructure arm of Axiata Group Bhd, is selling its operations across Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to multiple buyers, people privy to the deal told Business Times.
The deal could be announced as early as today, the people said.
When asked to confirm about the rumour, Axiata said that it continuously evaluates strategic, financial and portfolio opportunities that can enhance long-term shareholder value.
Under its Axiata28: Advancing Asia strategy, the group takes an active and disciplined approach to managing its portfolio of telecommunications and technology businesses across Southeast and South Asia, it said.
“Any such considerations are assessed against rigorous criteria, including value, strategic fit, timing and execution certainty.
“We will pursue opportunities where the timing, structure and outcomes appropriately reflect an asset’s intrinsic value and future potential, consistent with our objective of creating sustainable long-term shareholder value,” said Axiata.
If the rumour is true, Edotco would be left with its Malaysia and Sri Lankan operations. The group, in which Axiata owns 63 per cent stake, is the sixth largest independent tower group in the world and one of the largest in Asia.
Axiata has been trying to monetize its prized infrastructure asset for the past two years, in its pivot toward an “asset-light” strategy to reduce group debt and recycle capital for new growth areas.
Edotco’s enterprise value is estimated between US$3.5 billion and US$4 billion.
Back in December 2024, the market was abuzz when Macquarie Asset Management reportedly tabled a massive US$3.5 billion offer for Axiata’s stake.
By April 2025, reports resurfaced that Axiata was actively testing the waters for a stake sale valuing the tower unit at roughly US$3 billion.
Rather than a single bloc sale, the decision to partition the assets for sale to multiple buyers reflects the complex geographical makeup of Edotco’s portfolio. Buyers have historically ascribed different risk-reward profiles to different markets.
For instance, Edotco’s South Asian assets have long been robust cash cows; operations in Bangladesh previously accounted for nearly 32 per cent of Edotco Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, and were a reliable dividend payer, while the Pakistan unit benefited from contracts with built-in annual rental escalations.
By late 2025, industry sources confirmed that the bidding war had been whittled down to three final contenders, namely Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management, CVC Capital Partners plc and the Employees Provident Fund.
At the time, Axiata’s leadership noted that they had successfully “incubated these assets” to a credible scale, but their future growth potential would increasingly require heavy external funding.
The multi-market divestment is expected to result in a substantial liquidity injection into Axiata.
Edotco is one of Asia’s largest independent tower operators. In its 2024 financial year, the company posted a net profit of RM411 million on the back of RM2.86 billion in revenue, backed by total assets exceeding RM12 billion.
The capital raised from offloading the Indonesian, Philippine, Cambodian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani portfolios would likely be deployed to slash Axiata’s debt commitments.
As part of the Axiata28 plan, the group is committed to lowering net debt-to-Ebitda to below two times by end-2028. Axiata’s net debt to annualized Ebitda stands at 2.22 times as of June 30, 2026, based on a computed net debt of RM12.04 billion and an annualized Ebitda of RM5.41 billion.
In an interview with a local news portal, Axiata’s group CEO and managing director Nik Rizal Kamil Nik Ibrahim Kamil said monetisation and capital recycling are important levers in the Axiata28 framework.
However, it is only part of a much broader value creation strategy for the group. Axiata aims to pay out more than RM3 billion in dividends to shareholders over the next three years, as part of Axiata28.
Meanwhile, Edotco’s financial performance moderated in 2025, with revenue declining 6.9 per cent to RM981.2 million, below the projected RM1.03 billion, mainly due to lower tenancy base.
However, its credit metrics remained strong, supported by an Ebitda margin of 68.4 per cent, Ebitda interest coverage of 8.3 times and cash flow from operations of RM526.9 million, said MARC Ratings in a rating note on Oct 29.
The group’s revenue is projected to range from RM966.2 million to RM1.04 billion annually over 2026 to 2029, compared with RM1.08 billion to RM1.16 billion under the previous forecasts, MARC Ratings noted.
“EBITDA margins are projected to remain strong at around 72%, notwithstanding the lower operating base and the larger assumed decommissioning in 2028.
“Growth prospects remain supported by network expansion by 5G network operators, while potential contributions from JENDELA Phase 2 remain contingent on the final award and project scope,” the rating agency noted.
Edotco’s borrowings are projected to remain elevated at RM1.2 billion to RM1.3 billion following higher assumed sukuk drawdowns, compared with the previous projection of RM817.6 million by 2029, noted MARC Ratings.
Nevertheless, leverage is expected to remain manageable, with debt-to-Ebitda and debt-to-equity ratios projected at 1.63 times to 1.89 times and 1.0 times to 1.1 times, respectively, the rating agency stated.
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