Vimpelcom’s sale and leaseback process in Russia could be nearing conclusion, with 10,400 of the country’s ~37,000 ground based towers coming to market. The transaction could be swelled by the inclusion of up to a further 19,000 rooftop sites – Russia has 80-95,000 sites including rooftops. While forex and trade sanctions may limit the appetite of Western investors, demand for co-location created by the expansion of Tele2, Antares and by the incumbent MNOs’ 4G rollouts makes Russia’s towers highly sought after.
Russian MNOs have traditionally been reluctant to look at infrastructure divestment with previous tower sales processes having amounted to nothing.
