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Towers specialist says funding will enable it to grow towers portfolio and invest in new power technologies.
Helios Towers DRC on Wednesday announced that it has secured a funding facility worth US$105 million that will finance the acquisition of mobile towers from Bharti Airtel and help it to finance future growth in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The funding facility represents an upsizing of an existing loan facility led by The Standard Bank of South Africa and Germany’s Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), the infrastructure specialist explained.
"Helios Towers Africa is pleased to announce the completion of this financing package in DRC which will help us fund the acquisition of Bharti Airtel’s tower portfolio and expand tower sharing solutions across the country," said Kash Pandya, chief executive officer of the firm’s parent company, Helios Towers Africa (HTA), in a statement.
"This is a significant step for HTA as it allows us to expand our DRC footprint and strengthen our network coverage for all of our customers," he added.
Bharti Airtel agreed to sell 950 towers, including some that are still under construction, to Helios Towers in May for an undisclosed sum.
Helios Towers said its portfolio in the DRC now extends to around 1,800 towers and that it has a growing pipeline of new builds for multiple operators.
In addition to enabling it to add towers, the funding will allow Helios Towers to invest in new power technologies and thereby reduce its reliance on diesel, the firm said.
"The DRC is a fast-growing market for HTA and with 17 million new subscribers forecast by 2020 we look forward to helping our customers address the infrastructure gap needed to support this phenomenal growth," Pandya said.
