Indonesia-based Indosat Ooredoo was reportedly close to agreeing a deal to sell 4,000 towers to Digital Colony for more than $700 million, as the loss-making operator looks to raise funds for network expansion, Bloomberg reported.

The news agency stated the companies were finalising an agreement, with sources revealing Digital Colony is lining up the purchase through Edgepoint Infrastructure, a Singapore-based venture established in November 2020 with former edotco CEO Suresh Sidhu to acquire tower assets and deploy new sites across Asia Pacific.

But Bloomberg cautioned Indosat Ooredoo’s negotiations could still break down.

The operator showed willingness to offload towers in the past, agreeing a deal valued at IDR6.4 trillion ($442.8 million) involving 3,100 sites with Mitratel and Protelindo in October 2019.

Indosat Ooredoo posted a net loss of IDR717 billion in 2020, compared with a profit of IDR1.57 trillion in 2019 due to one-time costs from a corporate reorganisation and increased investment in its LTE network. Revenue increased 6.9 per cent to IDR27.9 trillion.