Singapore-based Pinnacle Towers acquires ABHT of Bangladesh

Singapore-based Pinnacle Towers on Monday announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of a majority stake in AB HighTech (ABHT), a telecom tower platform in Bangladesh.

With this acquisition, Pinnacle, which global investment firm KKR invested in 2020, enters the rapidly growing Bangladesh market, Pinnacle’s second market after the Philippines.

Going forward, ABHT will operate under the name “Frontier Towers Bangladesh Ltd” with the renaming to become effective in the coming weeks, said a press statement.

ABHT is one of four licensed tower companies in Bangladesh. Its management brings more than 20 years of experience managing and operating wireless networks and tower infrastructure in Bangladesh, including a strong track record managing large-scale rollouts of towers in Bangladesh.

Pinnacle, in the press statement, said it is excited to partner with local shareholders, including Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, Chairman of Canadian University of Bangladesh; Mohammed Adnan Imam, Chairman and Co-founder of Genex Infosys (Bangladesh stock exchange: GENEXIL); Sheba Group, which founded Sheba Telecom, the predecessor of Banglalink, led by its Managing Director Asif Choudhury and Shahnul Hasan Khan, Vice Chairman of Strategic Holdings who collectively bring enormous entrepreneurial experience in Bangladesh to bear.

Pinnacle’s investment in ABHT comes as Bangladesh’s mobile phone network operators and consumers seek greater, more diverse and more reliable telecom solutions.

Through Pinnacle’s investment in ABHT, Pinnacle aims to play an increasingly vital role in developing Bangladesh’s digital infrastructure and contributing to increasing digital access for the people of Bangladesh.

Patrick Tangney, chairman and CEO of Pinnacle, said, “We are incredibly excited to invest in Bangladesh and support the continued expansion of digital connectivity, which is so central to inclusive economic development, in such a vibrant market.”

Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, vice chairman of ABHT, added, “The entry of Pinnacle into the Bangladesh market is great news and an opportunity for the country’s telecom sector. We look forward to continuing to help develop the telecom infrastructure of the country.”

Adnan Imam, FCCA, Director of ABHT, said, “This is a great opportunity for ABHT and I am thrilled to be able to work with an established platform with global expertise. We look forward to working closely with the highly experienced team and to make a difference to the people of Bangladesh.”

Pinnacle invests, builds and operates digital infrastructure with a focus on towers and related assets in the Asia Pacific region.

In addition to Bangladesh, Pinnacle operates a leading tower company in the Philippines.