Helios Towers Ghana Acquires Towers from Millicom International Cellular S.A.

Helios Towers Africa, Ltd. (“HTA”) today announces that its direct subsidiary, Helios Towers Ghana Limited (“HTG”), has agreed to acquire approximately 750 towers from Millicom Ghana Company Limited ("Tigo Ghana"), a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular S.A. (“Millicom”).
Additionally, HTG and Tigo Ghana have entered into a long term leasing agreement where HTG will provide Tigo Ghana with wireless communications towers, including a build-to-suit agreement to support the company's wireless networks. HTG will seek similar agreements with other operators in Ghana. The transaction is expected to create savings in both capital and operating expenditure for Tigo Ghana and represents the first major sale/leaseback transaction to be completed between an independent tower company and a major operator in Africa. It provides a stable platform for HTG to offer a broad tower sharing option to other operators interested in enhancing network coverage and capacity, with significantly improved time to market and operational efficiency.
Charles Green, CEO of HTA, said:
“HTG enables Ghanaian wireless operators to outsource non-core tower-related activities and focus their capital and managerial resources on providing higher quality services more cost-effectively. We are very excited about our agreement with Tigo Ghana as it will provide HTG with scale and coverage of virtually all of Ghana’s significant population centers. We are pleased to enter into such an innovative arrangement with Millicom, which ensures that HTG has, as an anchor tenant on each of its towers, a high quality operator with a demonstrated long-term commitment to the development of wireless services in Ghana."
Tope Lawani, Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners LLP (“HIP”), HTA's lead investor, added:
“HIP pioneered the independent tower model in Africa when it formed Helios Towers Nigeria (“HTN”). HTN, which remains the leading independent tower company in Nigeria, owns, operates and offers tower sharing services on its portfolio of approximately 600 multi-tenant towers to eleven operators in that country. The goal of HTA is to provide telecom operators outside of Nigeria with similar opportunities to outsource passive network infrastructure in response to the challenges of meeting rapid demand growth and increasing competition.”
Mikael Grahne, President and CEO of Millicom, said:
“This agreement marks Millicom’s first substantial commitment to outsourcing passive infrastructure. HTA’s commitment to the independent tower business in Africa was a key factor in our decision to team with them in Ghana. The new venture will allow Tigo Ghana to focus on areas of genuine differentiation: sales, marketing, distribution, service innovation and customer care.”
The specific number of towers and final purchase price will be determined at closing. The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in approximately 90 days.