Eaton Towers has announced it has acquired 400 towers from the Ugandan subsidiary of Warid Telecom, an Abu Dhabi-based telecoms group.
Financial details were not revealed but Eaton said that it will own and maintain the towers “while Warid and other…
Eaton Towers has announced it has acquired 400 towers from the Ugandan subsidiary of Warid Telecom, an Abu Dhabi-based telecoms group.
Financial details were not revealed but Eaton said that it will own and maintain the towers “while Warid and other mobile operators will be long-term tenants on the towers”.
This deal comes just a few days after Eaton bought 280 towers from Orange Uganda, a subsidiary of France Telecom. “The fifteen-year deal is focused on both the outsourcing of the operation and maintenance of existing sites and providing build-to-suit for new sites with a view to reducing both operating costs and capital expenditure,” the companies said.
France Telecom hired Lazard as financial adviser, Linklaters as legal adviser and PwC as auditor, TelecomFinance understands.
In a statement today, Alan Harper, the CEO of Eaton Towers, said: “We now have a leading position in Uganda, combining the two complementary networks of Orange and Warid, which cover the majority of the population.
“Tower sharing is now becoming an essential strategy for African mobile operators with a need to reduce operating costs, reduce capex and offer focus on their core business of providing service for their customers. Eaton will continue to implement our strategy of investing in attractive tower sharing opportunities across Africa.”
In September last year, Eaton secured US$150m in funding from PE firm CIPEF.
This opened the way for the tower operator to raise further debt, with the company securing a first US$30m debt facility in January from Standard Bank.
This facility was aimed at funding the maintenance of its towers in Ghana as well as building new towers in the country.
