France Telecom (FT) Orange Uganda, yesterday announced the sale of their wireless tower network in Uganda to Eaton Towers.
FT expanded their African footprint in recent months by purchasing majority shares in Egypt’s Mobinil and other subsidiaries such as Orange Uganda.
According to a company press statement, the deal reduces their operating costs and they plan similar sales in other African regions to increase liquidity and reduce expenditure.
FT currently operates in 20 African countries and the Middle East aiming to double their annual revenue to around €7 billion by 2015.
Selling their tower networks allows them to focus on other deals to set themselves apart from their competition, the company said.
“Orange Uganda’s towers initiative is the first of its kind and will be closely watched by subsidiaries in other markets across Africa,” Marc Rennard, FT’s head of Africa, Middle East and Asia, said.
FT, who spent €5.8 billion in 2011 on capital expenditure, is considering site sharing to streamline their cost structure in markets where competition has pushed prices down, Elie Girard, FT’s head of strategy and development, said last month in an interview with Bloomberg news agency.
Joseph Mayton
