Bharti Airtel has announced that Airtel Africa will sell 1,424 towers in Madagascar and Malawi to Helios Towers for $119 million. Airtel Africa also signed a pact with Helios Towers for sale of additional 195 sites across Madagascar and Malawi over the three years following completion for $11 million.
“Airtel Africa today (on Tuesday) announces the signing of agreements to sell its telecommunications tower companies in Madagascar and Malawi to Helios Towers plc.
“The Group’s tower portfolios in these two markets together comprise 1,229 towers which form part of the Group’s wireless telecommunications infrastructure network,” the regulatory filing said. The transaction is expected to close before December 2021.
The two companies have also entered into an agreement for tower assets in Chad and Gabon but particulars of the deal were not disclosed.
Airtel Africa deal in Chad and Gabon will also incorporate lease arrangements with the Helios Towers and build to suit commitments in Chad and Gabon.
The filing said, “The proposed transactions are not inter-conditional and are expected to close before the end of our fiscal year 2022.”
The company will use proceeds from the transactions and the proposed transactions to reduce Airtel Africa Group’s external debt and to invest in network and sales infrastructure in the respective operating countries. Airtel Africa in 2015 sold tower assets to Helios for $1.3 billion.