True Corporation has asked Thailand's stock market regulator for permission to structure its assets into a fund to raise up to $2.3 billion (70 billion baht).
The assets being packaged are 13,000 base stations, 45,000 km of fiber, 9,000 links and 1.2 million broadband ports upcountry. Revenue from 13,500 3G base stations and rental from 100 cell sites is also included in the package.
The company has also sold off $174 million in assets in its subsidiaries to boost working capital and focus on its core telecommunications business.
The fund will be offered through Siam Commercial Bank Asset Management. True intends to buy 33% of the shares once issued.
The restructuring will reduce True’s debt to equity ration from 7.6 to 2.0.
The news broke when True general counsel Atuck Asavanond submitted this request to the securities exchange commission.
Despite being under the same build-transfer-operate concession as fellow CAT Telecom concessionaire Dtac, True has not handed back any of its cellsites or core network assets to the state. When Dtac recently failed to hand back some 3G sites, that move was quickly met by lawsuits from the state telco.