In a bid to settle piling debts, Airtel Africa has announced the sale of its Tanzanian tower portfolio for $175 million.
The towers were purchased by SBA Communications Corporation and Paradigm Infrastructure Limited. Airtel Africa says the move will allow it to prioritize its core subscription services.
The telco will receive approximately $157.5 million of the total amount in the first instalment, which is expected to take place in the second half of the group’s financial year with Some of the proceeds being paid out to the Tanzanian government as part of the terms of the company’s public listing in 2019.
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The rest of the funds will be used to reduce the company’s debt portfolio at the group level and investment in network and sales infrastructure in Tanzania.
The move is in line with Airtel Africa CEO, Raghunath Mandava remarks last year where he outlined plans to sell approximately 4,500 towers in Chad, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, and Tanzania in order to reduce the company’s $3.5 billion debt and prepare for upcoming bond repayments.
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“We are constantly seeking to bring down our debt, and we prefer to bring it down even faster with the tower deals,” Mandava had said.
