VinaCapital takes full control of BTS towers builder

VNI paid an additional $13 million to up its stake in the company from 40%, valuing VNC-55 at $21million. The price represents a premium of 32.2% to the company's 2011 net asset value (NAV) of $16.4 million. The fund aims to help VNC-55 achieve an EBITDA margin of over 65% in the next three years.

In 2011, VNC-55 achieved a net profit of VND17.2 billion ($0.82 million) and currently owns approximately 2,000 BTSs in Vietnam, including those owned by Global Infrastructure Investment (GII), Mobile Infrastructure Development Company (MIDC), and Mobile Information Services (MIS).

The demand for wireless networks in Vietnam is experiencing rapid growth, largely due to the rise of the middle class across the country. In 2011, the mobile penetration rate in Vietnam reached 172%, a significant increase from 41% in 2007. The ratio is expected to grow by more than 4% annually over the next five years.

As a result, an additional supply of 6,000 new BTS towers, especially in rural areas and secondary cities, are expected to serve the growing appetite from mobile phone operators over the next two years.

VinaCapital, a $1.6 billion investment firm, manages three funds trading on AIM. VNI was launched in July 2007 and invests in infrastructure and related assets nationwide. It focus on sectors such as energy, transport, telecommunications, industrial parks and environmental utilities. The fund currently has a NAV of $194 million.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Infrastructure
• Investments
• Vietnam
• TMT
• Infrastructure
• buyout
• VinaCapital