Shareholders owning more than half of Indonesia-based Tower Bersama requested banks to prepare proposals on the potential sale of their stakes in the infrastructure company, as demand for tower sharing heats up in the country, Bloomberg reported.

The news agency stated a subsidiary of Saratoga Investama Sedaya and private equity company Provident Capital Indonesia, which hold 34 per cent and 22 per cent respectively, were in early discussions.

It added the companies’ holdings are worth about IRD43.5 trillion ($3 billion), giving Tower Bersama a market value of $5.3 billion.

The company operates 16,400 towers. Operators in Indonesia have offloaded much of their tower assets to raise capital for debt reduction and 5G network investments.

In a research note last month, Fitch Ratings highlighted the importance of network sharing to drive scale efficiencies and the feasibility of 5G investments.

It had previously noted solid growth prospects for the tower industry in Indonesia, with a strengthening business risk profile due to strong demand from the nation’s three largest mobile operators.

Indosat Ooredoo sold more than 4,200 towers to Digital Colony subsidiary EdgePoint Indonesia for $750 million in March; Telkomsel reached an agreement to sell 6,050 to Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel) for $950 million in October 2020; and XL Axiata sold assets valued at IDR4.05 trillion to local companies Protelindo and Centratama Menara Indonesia in early 2020.