KKR set aside $400 million to develop and acquire roughly 2,000 telecoms towers in the Philippines, as part of a number of deals struck by the US Department of Commerce under a bilateral trade pact.

In a statement, the US government stated the agreement builds on KKR’s investment in Pinnacle Towers, which it described as the largest independent tower operator in the Philippines.

KKR acquired a stake in Pinnacle Towers in 2020 to strengthen its position in the Southeast Asian country,

The fresh capital injection is designed to boost digital connectivity across the Philippines, and the government stated “KKR continues to be highly attracted to the dynamic Philippines market and looks to do more to support national infrastructure and development priorities”.

In 2023, the investment company bought 1,012 towers from PLDT through Philippines-based Frontier Tower. A year earlier, KKR-backed Frontier acquired 3,529 towers in a sale and leaseback deal with Globe Telecom, KKR is also among the financial backers of Filipino operator PLDT’s digital unit Voyager.

Under the trade pact designed to deepen the US-Philippines commercial ties, the government also listed investments and initiatives by companies including Google, Mastercard and Microsoft, the latter of which is working with the central bank of Philippines to promote AI deployments and digital upskilling.