MTN looking to offload towers in Africa
Mobile operator MTN is planning to sell its mobile tower networks in Africa, according to Bloomberg, citing “people familiar with the matter”.
Bloomberg also noted that India’s Bharti Airtel and French based operator Orange SA were also looking to offload their existing towers on the continent
MTN is selling towers valued at $1 billion in Nigeria, while Bharti aims to sell 15,000 of its towers across 17 countries for $2 billion to $2.5 billion,” said the people, who asked not to be named “because the negotiations are private”.
Bloomberg reported that Orange would also look to dispose of its towers in sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt.
In December MTN Group said it had agreed to sell its tower portfolios in Rwanda and Zambia to IHS Holdings.
That sale included 1,228 mobile network towers – 524 in Rwanda and 704 in Zambia – and was 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.
Bloomberg reported that IHS, American Tower, units of Helios Towers and Eaton Towers are considering acquisitions of the MTN and Bharti assets, again citing one of the people close to the discussions.
Spokesmen for IHS, Bharti and Orange declined to comment on the potential deals, and a spokeswoman for Helios Towers Africa declined to comment, Bloomberg said.
Representatives of Eaton Towers, American Towers, Helios Towers Nigeria and MTN didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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