MTN offloads African towers
MTN Group has announced that it has agreed to sell its tower portfolios in Rwanda and Zambia to IHS Holdings.
According to MTN the sale will include 1,228 mobile network towers – 524 in Rwanda and 704 in Zambia – and is in line with MTN’s “asset optimization strategy”, which follows two previous deals with IHS in Cameroon and Côté d’Ivoire, for a total of 1,758 towers.
Under the agreements, IHS will acquire and operate the towers and related passive infrastructure and will invest in a build-to-suit program to support MTN’s future requirements in both countries.
MTN Rwanda and MTN Zambia will become the respective anchor tenants on the towers for an initial term of ten years, the group said.
IHS’s tower portfolio is now pegged at 10,500 towers across Africa.
“In addition to unlocking value in our passive infrastructure, we remain cognizant of the need to contain and efficiently manage our cost structures across the Group as our markets mature and become more competitive,” said MTN Group CEO, Safiso Dabengwa in a statement.
The deals are expected to close independently during the first half of 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.
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