Airtel Africa To Sell Towers To Reduce $3.5bn Debt

Africa’s second largest carrier, Airtel Africa Plc is set to sell its telecommunications towers across five countries to repay its debt

Aside selling about 4,500 towers, Airtel also plans to dispose its cellular masts in Gabon Malawi and Chad, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Raghunath Mandava, said in an interview.

“We are constantly seeking to bring down our debt, and we prefer to bring it down even faster with the tower deals,” he said.

Based on the companies annual report, Artel has $899mn and $505mn to repay in May 2020 and March 2023.

Mandava said the initial debt was $7.7bn, but the company reduced it to $3.5bn through using proceeds from the listing on Nigerian Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange.

The CEO said Airtel will eventually lease back the towers from the buyers, adding “Our focus is to grow in the countries that we are in.”

Other carriers in Africa had followed the same step , including MTN which in January exited tower business in Ghana, selling 49 per cent stake in Ghana Tower Interco B.V and Uganda Tower Interco B.V.

In September, MTN reached agreement to transfer 9,151 towers to be jointly owned by the carrier and IHS.