Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) has advised the selling shareholders on the agreement to sell Irrawaddy Towers Asset Holding, which owns Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Green Towers (‘IGT’), to CVC Capital Partners Asia V (‘CVC’).

The sale process was a competitive auction with interest from across the globe. IGT is the leading independent telecommunications tower company in Myanmar with close to 4,000 towers strategically located across the entire country.

The transaction was announced in December and marks CVC’s first investment into Myanmar, underlining the attractive fundamentals and strong growth of Myanmar's mobile communication sector.

The multi-jurisdictional Freshfields team comprised team members from Dubai, Singapore and London, led by partners Rob Cant (Dubai), Don Stokes (Singapore), Nigel Gleeson (Singapore) and Peter Clements (London), principally supported by associates Carmen Lee (Singapore), Adam Halewood (Dubai) and Chris Gotch (London).

Rob Cant, who led the Freshfields team, commented: “We are thrilled to have been able to deliver on another large first-of-its kind transaction for financial sponsor clients in an exciting frontier market, particularly at a time of global market uncertainty.”

Major Projects partner at Freshfields, Don Stokes, added “This landmark transaction was the largest M&A deal in Myanmar in 2020 and another example of the attraction of the Asian digital infrastructure sector, including data centre and fibre optic asset portfolios, for private equity investment.”

Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

ENDS