Airtel Deal to Sell Over 3,500 Towers in Africa Collapses

"The agreements for sale of tower assets in Africa between Bharti Airtel Malawi Holdings B.V. & ors. and Eaton Towers (Lilongwe) Ltd & ors. has lapsed and therefore stands terminated," Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing.

Last year in September, Airtel announced that it has sold over 3,500 telecom towers in Africa to Eaton Towers.

As part of the deal, Airtel was to sell and lease back over 3,500 towers to Eaton in 6 countries across its African operations under a 10-year contract. The company had said the agreement would allow Airtel to focus on its core business and customers, enable it to deleverage through debt reduction, and would significantly reduce its on-going capital expenditure on passive infrastructure.

Airtel in June said its agreement with Helios Towers Africa for sale of its tower assets in Tanzania and Tchad stands terminated. The company in July last year signed a deal with Helios Towers Africa (HTA) for sale of 3,100 towers in four countries across its African operations, which span across 17 nations.

The company had not mentioned names of the countries but sources had said the deal was signed for Tanzania, Tchad, Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Now the deal with Tanzania and Tchad stands terminated, the agreement with HTA for Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo is still intact, sources said.