Orange Uganda, a subsidiary of French incumbent France Telecom, has entered into an agreement with African tower operator Eaton Towers for the sale and leaseback of its towers.
Orange Uganda will sell 280 towers to Eaton before leasing them back…
Orange Uganda, a subsidiary of French incumbent France Telecom, has entered into an agreement with African tower operator Eaton Towers for the sale and leaseback of its towers.
Orange Uganda will sell 280 towers to Eaton before leasing them back from the tower operator, TelecomFinance understands. The deal value was not disclosed.
“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.”
France Telecom hired Lazard as financial adviser, Linklaters as legal adviser and PwC as auditor, TelecomFinance understands.
France Telecom, which expects savings of approximately 30%, said it may consider similar partnerships in other of its African markets.
“Orange Uganda’s towers initiative is the first of its kind and will be closely watched by Orange subsidiaries in other markets across Africa,” Marc Rennard, executive vice-president for Africa, Middle East and Asia at France Telecom, said.
In February, TelecomFinance had reported that Eaton Towers was close to sealing its first deal for 2012. Shortly before that, it had secured a US$30m debt facility from Standard Bank to fund its operations in Ghana.
