Bharti Airtel rallies over 1%, hits 52-week high on tower sale plans

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel Ltd rose as much as 1.68 per cent in trade on Tuesday, to hit its fresh 52-week high of Rs 410 after the Sunil Mittal-headed firm said it will sell more than 3,500 of its mobile towers in six African countries to telecommunications tower firm, Eaton Towers in a bid to reduce costs.

At 09:45 a.m.; Bharti Airtel was trading 1.6 per cent higher at Rs 410. It hit a low of Rs 399.95 and a 52-week high of Rs 410 in trade today.

Bharti Airtel will lease back the towers from Eaton under a 10-year pact, the companies said in a statement. But they did not disclose financial details of the deal, ET reported.

The agreements are subject to statutory and regulatory approvals in the respective African countries.

As per the ET report, back in July, Bharti Airtel had agreed to sell about 3,100 towers in four African countries to Helios Towers Africa.

"This agreement (with Eaton) represents the next phase of Airtel's growth journey in Africa. We are strong proponents of telecoms infrastructure sharing, which results in industry-wide cost efficiencies," Manoj Kohli, chairman, Bharti Airtel International Netherlands BV (BAIN), said in a media statement.

The latest tower sale is part of India's top mobile operator's plans to divest most of its 15,000-plus towers in Africa, in a process that could reportedly raise up to $2 billion.