Macquarie Capital is seeking a new advisor to sell its entire 45% stake in a Philippines telecommunications tower operator, two sources familiar said.

The Australia-based investor’s advisory and principle investing unit is holding a bake-off for potential advisors after distributing request for proposals, according to one of the sources.

Macquarie Capital, which holds about 45% of JVCo, was initially planning to trim its shareholding through a partial sale but is now hoping to garner more interest and exit its investment, the second source said.

This is why it wants to appoint another advisor, said the second source, with the deal likely being restructured and broadened to a potential majority sale.

The tower company, Joint Venture Co (JVCo), was formed last year through the merger between Miescor Infrastructure Development (MIDC) and PhilTower Consortium. JVCo is now owned by a group comprising Macquarie Capital, Global Network Inc, MIESCOR – a unit of Manila Electric Co (Meralco) – and US infrastructure fund manager Stonepeak.

A potential deal may value the entity at USD 700m to USD 800m, according to a newswire report last November.

It is unclear whether ING, which was advising Macquarie earlier, is retaining its role given the changes in size and deal structure, two other sources said.

Macquarie’s exit could potentially turn into a majority sale should other shareholders decide to join the process, the first, second and a fifth source familiar said.

Stonepeak, which holds approximately 20% stake in the consortium, is not considering an exit for now, the fifth source said.

JVCo has over 3,300 operational towers and a pipeline of more than 2,100 committed orders, Macquarie announced last September. It has three main customers and mobile network operators Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, and DITO Telecommunity.

Macquarie Capital invested in PhilTower in 2021. It committed all of the equity for PhilTower’s acquisition of 1,350 telecommunications towers from Globe Telecom for PHP 20bn (USD 354m).

Recent M&A activities in Philippines’ telecommunication towers segment include KKR’s minority sale of Pinnacle Towers to BCI, a Canadian public pensions manager.

Macquarie, Stonepeak and MIESCOR declined to comment. ING did not respond to a request for comment.