Shareholders of PhilTower, a company that operates a widespread portfolio of telecommunications towers across the Philippines, have begun exploring a sale that could value the business at about $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The conversations, which are at an early stage, have attracted attention from global infrastructure funds, regional tower owners and strategic telecom operators, according to the report.

PhilTower’s exploration of a sale comes amid a multi-year trend toward monetizing passive telecom infrastructure. Operators have increasingly sold towers to specialist owners to raise cash, streamline balance sheets and accelerate network upgrades such as 5G rollout. Industry executives say tower portfolios command premiums because they generate long-term, lease-based cash flows that are attractive to yield-seeking investors. “Infrastructure owners see predictability in towers similar to utilities; that’s what drives the appetite,” one banker familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.

Market implications would be twofold. For sellers, a $1 billion exit would represent meaningful capital recycling: proceeds can be redeployed into fiber, spectrum purchases or debt reduction. For buyers, the acquisition would add scale to tower portfolios in a market where mobile penetration exceeds 100 percent, driving demand for densification and site-sharing. The Philippines, with a population of roughly 113 million and rising mobile data usage, remains an attractive geography for investors seeking secular growth in connectivity.

Valuation dynamics hinge on interest rates and leverage availability. The global rise in benchmark rates since 2022 has pushed up financing costs, placing downward pressure on valuation multiples for yield-sensitive assets. Yet infrastructure funds continue to hold significant capital earmarked for digital and energy transitions. “The trade-off is between higher discount rates and still-robust cash-flow profiles,” said an infrastructure fund executive. “That narrows but does not eliminate investor interest.”

Regulatory and competitive considerations will shape any transaction. A change in ownership of a large tower operator could prompt scrutiny by Philippine competition authorities and telecom regulators, particularly if vertical integration or exclusive leasing arrangements affect smaller mobile operators’ access to sites. Sellers and bidders will also factor in long-term maintenance costs and the need to invest in site upgrades to support 5G and future technologies.

Timing remains uncertain. People familiar with the situation said no binding offers had been submitted and that talks could stall or evolve into a formal sale process over several months. PhilTower did not immediately respond to requests for comment; similarly, prospective buyers declined to comment.

More broadly, the reported move reflects a deeper shift in regional telecom markets toward the separation of passive infrastructure from service providers, a strategy that has reshaped capital allocation across Asia. If the deal proceeds at the reported level, it would underscore continuing investor confidence in digital infrastructure as a long-duration asset class, even as macroeconomic headwinds and tighter credit conditions complicate deal-making.