Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), through the Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund 3, alongside the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), a Canadian pension fund, has paid $610m USD to acquire a significant minority stake in Bersama Digital Infrastructure Asia Pte. Ltd., a business which holds a 62.4% interest in Tower Bersama (PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure Tbk), an independent tower company in Indonesia with 20.6k towers. Presently, Bersama Digital Infrastructure is controlled by Indonesian private equity firms Provident Capital and Saratoga (PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk).
In terms of valuation, the Macquarie and PSP transaction implies an enterprise value for Tower Bersama of more than $6.5bn USD. Based on Tower Bersama’s Q4 2021 annualized EBITDA of Rp5.76tn ($403m USD), this valuation implies an EV/EBITDA multiple of ~16x.
Per Indonesia Stock Exchange filings, Macquarie has taken an 18.6% indirect stake in Tower Bersama (IDX: TBIG), while PSP Investments has gained an 11.0% indirect stake in the company. Collectively, Macquarie and PSP Investments’ 29.6% indirect ownership interest in Tower Bersama implies that, together, they hold a 47.5% (i.e., significant minority) direct stake in Bersama Digital Infrastructure. Below is further detail on Macquarie and PSP Investments’ ownership in both Tower Bersama and Bersama Digital Infrastructure:
| Investment Vehicle | Manager | Tower Bersama | Bersama Digital |
| MAIF3 Investments Indonesia Pte. Ltd. | Macquarie | 6.5% | 10.5% |
| MAIF3 Investments Indonesia 2 Pte. Ltd. | Macquarie | 12.0% | 19.3% |
| Infra-PSP Credit Inc. | PSP | 5.5% | 8.8% |
| Public Sector Pension Investment Board | PSP | 5.5% | 8.8% |
| Total Ownership | — | 29.6% | 47.5% |
Beyond Tower Bersama, Macquarie and PSP Investments will invest alongside Provident and Saratoga to support Bersama Digital Infrastructure in pursuing investment opportunities in the digital infrastructure sub-sectors of towers, data centers, and fiber in Southeast Asia.
Tower Bersama – Overview
Tower Bersama’s portfolio comprised 20.6k telecommunications towers and distributed antenna system (DAS) networks as of year-end 2021. During the year, Tower Bersama grew its portfolio by 4.3k towers or 26.5%, from 16.3k sites at year-end 2020.
Additionally, Tower Bersama’s 20.6k towers and DAS sites have a tenancy ratio of 1.90x, equating to 39.0k tenants with equipment on its towers.
Lease-Up
During full-year 2021, Tower Bersama generated 7.6k gross tenancy additions, of which 4.3k were from acquisitions and build-to-suit (BTS) sites, while 3.3k were colocations. Also, net tenancy additions on Tower Bersama’s infrastructure were 7.2k during full-year 2021.
Financial Performance – Full-Year 2021
For full-year 2021, Tower Bersama reported revenue of Rp6.18tn ($433m USD), a 16% increase year-over-year, and EBITDA of Rp5.43tn ($380m USD), an 18% increase year-over-year. Therefore, the company’s EBITDA margin was 87.8% in full-year 2021, a 1.1% improvement year-over-year.
Macquarie and PSP Investments – Consortium Partners
Macquarie and PSP Investments have previously partnered together on investments and offers for companies in the digital infrastructure sector, including AirTrunk and Uniti Group Limited (Australia). Below is further detail on Macquarie and PSP’s most recent consortium partnership:
Uniti Group Limited (ASX: UWL)
In March 2022, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), which is part of Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), and PSP Investments, together formed the Connect Consortium and made a proposal to acquire Uniti Group Limited (ASX: UWL), a wholesale fiber broadband provider in Australia, for a price of A$5.00 in cash per share, equating to an equity value of A$3.6bn ($2.7bn USD). Ultimately, Macquarie and PSP’s offer was bested by an identically-priced offer from a different consortium of Morrison & Co. and Brookfield Infrastructure.
