Bharti Airtel closes tower sale in 5 African nations

Bharti Airtel said on Thursday it has completed the sale of mobile towers in five countries in Africa for $1.3 billion and the process is under way for selling tower assets in six other nations.

The company had earlier announced that it would divest tower assets in 13 countries in Africa to different companies.

"We would like to inform that as on date, we have completed the sale transactions in five countries while in two, the agreements have lapsed. For the balance six, the process is on and we hope to have the finality in the coming few months," the company said in a filing to BSE.

It added that the total proceeds from transactions already concluded are over $1.3 billion, which would be utilised for reducing debt of the company.

Airtel initially had some 15,000 mobile towers across Africa, where it operates in 17 countries.