Airtel sells Madagascar, Malawi towers to Helios for $108m

Airtel Africa said it was selling its telecoms tower companies in Madagascar and Malawi to Helios Towers for $108m and was looking to offload assets in Gabon and Chad as it focused on its core subscriber business.

The deal is for 1,229 towers which form part of the group's wireless telecommunications infrastructure network, Airtel said on Tuesday.

Under the terms of the deal Airtel Africa's subsidiaries will continue to develop, maintain and operate their equipment on the towers under separate lease arrangements. In addition the group has agreed to build on an extra 195 sites across Madagascar and Malawi over three years after completion, for an extra $11m.

Airtel said the potential sale of around 1,000 towers in Chad and Gabon to Helios was expected to close before the end fiscal 2022.

The proceeds from the two deals would be used to reduce group external debt and to invest in network and sales infrastructure in the respective operating countries, the company said.