Bharti Airtel to sell its four African units to Orange

Bharti Airtel said on Monday it has entered into an agreement with France-based telecom operator Orange to sell its four subsidiaries in Africa.

"Orange and Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV (Airtel) enter an exclusive agreement concerning four Airtel subsidiaries in Africa," the company said in a statement.

But it said there is no certainty of any binding agreement as a result of these discussions.

"Orange and Airtel have entered into an exclusive agreement to explore the possible acquisition by Orange of Airtel's subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone," the statement said.

Airtel, which offers services in 17 countries in Africa, has completed the sale of mobile towers in five African nations for $1.3 billion and the process is under way to sell tower assets in six others.