Bharti Airtel deal to sell over 3,500 towers in Africa collapses

Bharti Airtel on Friday said the deal to sell over 3,500 telecom towers in Africa to Eaton Towers has lapsed and stands terminated.

"The agreements for sale of tower assets in Africa between Bharti Airtel Malawi Holdings B.V. & ors. and Eaton Towers (Lilongwe) Ltd & ors. has lapsed and therefore stands terminated," Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing.

Last year in September, Airtel announced that it has sold over 3,500 telecom towers in Africa to Eaton Towers.

As part of the deal, Airtel was to sell and lease back over 3,500 towers to Eaton in 6 countries across its African operations under a 10-year contract.

The company had said the agreement would allow Airtel to focus on its core business and customers, enable it to deleverage through debt reduction, and would significantly reduce its ongoing capital expenditure on passive infrastructure.

Shares of Bharti Airtel fell 2.98 per cent in intrad-day trade on Friday. It however, recoverd to close 0.46 per cent down at Rs 349.85 as compared to Thursday's close of Rs 351.45.