Mobile operator Tigo Tanzania has agreed to sell some 1,020 towers to Helios Towers Tanzania (HTT), a unit of Helios Towers Africa.
Parent company Millicom International Cellular will receive at least US$80m in cash and retain a significant minority…
Mobile operator Tigo Tanzania has agreed to sell some 1,020 towers to Helios Towers Tanzania (HTT), a unit of Helios Towers Africa.
Parent company Millicom International Cellular will receive at least US$80m in cash and retain a significant minority shareholding in Helios Towers Tanzania.
As part of the transaction, HTT will lease wireless communications towers to Tigo Tanzania, but will also open its network to other Tanzanian operators.
Mikael Grahne, President and CEO of Millicom, said: “Millicom created the first tower joint-venture in Africa with Helios in January 2010. The initial results proved very satisfactory, with an improved service level and a reduction in both capex and operating expenses. Millicom is now happy to enter into a similar agreement with Helios in Tanzania. This agreement confirms our commitment to outsourcing passive infrastructure, and is entirely consistent with our strategy of improving both our capital and operating efficiency by focusing on our core activities. We believe that owning and operating our entire network infrastructure no longer confer a competitive advantage, and we consider that such outsourcing ventures will allow Millicom to focus on areas of genuine differentiation: sales, marketing, branding, distribution, service innovation and customer care.”
The final number of towers and price will be set at the closing of the transaction, which is expected to take place next year.
