KARACHI: Pakistan’s largest conglomerate Engro Corp. has completed a Rs133 billion ($475 million) Islamic financing deal to acquire telecom tower company Deodar, expanding its telecom infrastructure business as the country seeks to strengthen digital connectivity, the company said on Friday.
The transaction, structured entirely through Shariah-compliant financing, brings more than 10,000 telecom towers under Engro’s control and marks one of the largest Islamic financing deals in Pakistan’s infrastructure sector.
Engro, which has major interests in energy, fertilizers, food and petrochemicals, said the acquisition would allow it to scale shared telecom infrastructure, under which a single tower can host multiple mobile network operators, lowering costs and reducing duplication as Pakistan prepares for next-generation digital services.
“My congratulations to the Dawood family and Engro, the Islamic bankers and conventional banks through their Islamic windows on being able to put together a deal of this size,” State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmed said at a ceremony marking the transaction, referring to the company and its chairman. “This is a great achievement which has been supported by the banks.”
