Bharti Airtel is set to sell over 3500 of its mobile towers, located in six African countries, to telecommunications tower firm – Eaton Towers. According to Bharti Airtel, the move has been put in place in order to reduce costs.
Bharti Airtel revealed that, under the deal, the company will sell and lease back the towers under a 10-year contract. The agreement will essentially allow Bharti Airtel to focus on its core business and customers, enable it to deleverage through debt reduction, and will significantly reduce its on-going capital expenditure on passive infrastructure.
According to moneycontrol.com, overall the news is positive for Bharti Airtel, with the stock gaining around 1.5 percent in the morning trade.
Bharti Airtel International Netherlands BV Chairman, Manoj Kohli, said in a statement that: “The agreement with Eaton Towers is an extension of this philosophy and will lead to far superior utilisation of passive infrastructure and help drive the proliferation of affordable mobile services across Africa. For Eaton Towers, it is a transformational deal, which gives it the most diversified tower portfolio across Africa.
“We are proud to be chosen by Airtel as their key partner in these 6 countries,” said Eaton Towers CEO Alan Harper.
Darryl Linington
