Airtel’s long rumored sale of all 15,000 of their African towers is nearing completion. Some TMT news outlets have announced the structure of the deal but, having spoken to the CEOs of Africa’s towercos, TowerXchange can confirm that those reports are premature and that the final shape of the transaction is yet to be determined.
Figure 1: Proportion of sites on the Airtel network running 3G
Nonetheless, here’s what we do know. Airtel is prepared to sell off their 15,000 towers in digestible ‘chunks’ rather as one single portfolio.