(Bloomberg) -- Veon said it agreed to sell its mobile network towers to a partner in Russia for 70.7 billion rubles ($970 million), a step in its plan to divest such infrastructure worldwide.
Service-Telecom will acquire 100% of Veon's National Tower Co. unit, which operates about 15,400 mobile towers in Russia, and continue to provide services under a long-term agreement, Veon said Monday in statement. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year pending regulatory approval, the company said.
Veon planned to move its 50,000 wireless towers into separate business units on a country by country basis over the course of the year, CEO Kaan Terzioglu said in February. The company was holding talks with three potential buyers in Russia, including Russian Towers and Vertical, according to Russian news reports in June.
Gazprombank JSC agreed to provide Service-Telecom 47 billion rubles in financing for the deal with Veon, the Russian lender said in a separate statement.
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