USA-based American Tower Corporation (ATC) and the MTN Group have set up a joint venture tower company in Uganda, which will acquire all of the existing tower sites from MTN Uganda, numbering approximately 1,000, for an agreed price of up to US$175 million. This follows the success of a similar deal between MTN Ghana and ATC, in which the holding company, ATC Ghana bought some 1,876 MTN towers in Ghana for about US$428.3 million. In the Ugandan deal, ATC Uganda would be managed by American Tower, which would control a 51% stake, while the MTN Group controlled a 49% stake; similar to the deal in Ghana, where ATC paid some US$218.5 million for its majority stake. A statement from the MTN Group said American Tower would pay approximately $89 million for its majority stake in the new holding company, and MTN Uganda would be the anchor tenant, on commercial terms, on each of the towers being purchased. “American Tower also expects that the holding company, ATC Uganda will build approximately 280 tower sites for MTN Uganda over the next three years, as well as pursue opportunities to build tower sites for other wireless operators in Uganda,” the statement said. Upon the close of the transaction, ATC Uganda will be the largest owner and operator of tower sites in Uganda. "We are pleased to announce the launch of our operations in Uganda, again in partnership with MTN, Africa's largest mobile operator," Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Tower, Jim Taiclet was quoted as saying. He said American Tower’s strategy was to invest in select African markets with strong wireless growth potential and a positive investment climate, adding that the investment in Uganda was further evidence of its execution of that strategy. “In addition, we are building upon our successful partnership with MTN in Ghana where our tower expertise, operational excellence and a focus on delivering growth and value from the asset portfolio, are highly complemented by MTN's regional operational experience,” Taiclet said.