In a regional first, in October 2017, Zain announced that it had reached a deal with IHS Towers for the sale and leaseback of its tower portfolios in Kuwait, in November 2018 news followed that Zain had agreed another sale and leaseback agreement with IHS Towers in Saudi Arabia. The transactions should be finalised imminently. The company announced that 1,700 Kuwaiti towers will be sold for $165mn and 8,100 Saudi towers for $650mn, while both deals include provisions for further new build. The move sees Zain pivot from a traditional telco to a digital service provider without the encumbrance of a portfolio of non-core, passive infrastructure.
Zain pioneering the sale of towers in the MENA region
