Edotco, the tower arm of Malaysia-headquartered Axiata Group, cancelled a planned $940 million purchase of 13,000 towers from Pakistan Mobile Communications after being unable to obtain the required regulatory approval.

In August 2017, edotco announced it would partner with Dawood Hercules to acquire the tower assets of Pakistan Mobile Communications, which operates under the Jazz brand and is the country’s largest mobile operator. Under the terms of the deal, Dawood Hercules would have taken a 45 per cent stake, with the remainder held by edotco.

In a statement edotco said the transaction had been subject to a number of conditions and was terminated after it didn’t get approval for the requested change of control within the stipulated timeframe. The company said it remains committed to Pakistan and will continue to grow its existing business under edotco Pakistan.

Edotco CEO Suresh Sidhu said: “We do not foresee this affecting our business goals. We are confident in the potential of the growing market in Pakistan and are committed to the existing operations there.”

Arif Hussain, country MD for edotco Pakistan, added: “We have seen strong progress in Pakistan since our first acquisition, and business continues to grow with new orders for sites as well as high demand for adjacent opportunities such as energy solutions. We remain focused on building the business in Pakistan.”

In June edotco picked up 700 towers in Pakistan when it acquired Tanzanite Tower, a subsidiary of Tower Share.