OVERLAND PARK, Kansas-Rumors that Sprint PCS might sell its 6,000 wireless communications towers to reduce debt are again circulating, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The Bloomberg report said Sprint has hired Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. to advise on the possible sale, according to an unnamed source, who added the sale is not imminent and the company may decide to keep the assets.
The Sprint tower portfolio, managed by the Sprint Sites USA division of the company, counts 6,400 towers valued at about $1.5 billion. Sprint Sites was not immediately available for comment.
Potential buyers of the towers would include tower owners like American Tower Corp. American Tower said earlier this week at an analyst conference that it would opportunistically pursue consolidation within the industry, but only if an offering was reasonably priced, held reasonable risk and had the potential to enhance the free cash flow.
Private tower firms, like AAT Communications and Global Tower Partners, which have both rapidly acquired towers during the past year, could also be considered potential buyers.
The resurgence of the rumor follows Sprint Corp.’s move earlier this week to recombine its PCS and FON tracking stocks. Beginning April 23, both divisions will trade under the FON symbol. At press time, both stocks were trading up, with PCS at $9.54 per share and FON at $19 per share.
