Helios Towers Nigeria (HTN), an affiliate of Helios Towers Africa (HTA), is looking to issue US$225m of senior unsecured notes due in 2019.
Proceeds are expected to be used to repay existing debt.
Ratings agency Fitch, which revealed the company’s…
Helios Towers Nigeria (HTN), an affiliate of Helios Towers Africa (HTA), is looking to issue US$225m of senior unsecured notes due in 2019.
Proceeds are expected to be used to repay existing debt.
Ratings agency Fitch, which revealed the company’s plan in a release, gave both the proposed deal and HTN a B rating.
Detailing the rating drivers, Fitch said HTN is a rapidly growing company in Nigeria, where demand for telecoms services is quickly increasing. It also noted its good revenue visibility because of long-term lease agreements.
Fitch however pointed to the need to deleverage and the risk of increased competition in the country, as more tower assets come up for sale.
Three mobile operators are in the process of selling their towers in Nigeria: India’s Bharti Airtel, UAE-based Etisalat and South African group MTN. HTN, the country’s second-largest independent towerco with over 1,100 sites, is understood to be among the interested bidders.
Bharti is also offloading its towers in several other African nations. HTA along with rivals Eaton and IHS are expected to split the Indian company’s US$2bn portfolio between them.
