Airtel sells over 3,100 towers to Helios in Africa

Bharti Airtel International Netherlands, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, has inked an agreement with Helios Towers Africa (HTA) to sell over 3,100 telecom towers in four African nations, a company statement said here Wednesday.

However, Airtel will have full access to the towers under a long-term lease contract with HTA.
Bharti Airtel International looks after the telco's Africa operations.

Asked about the size of the deal, Airtel declined to comment.

The agreement also envisages that tower operations-related personnel will be transferred from Airtel to HTA.

This agreement will help Airtel to focus on its core business and customers and it would also enable it to deleverage through debt reduction, and will significantly reduce its ongoing capital expenditure on passive infrastructure, the statement noted.