Bharti Airtel rallies over 2% on sale of 4800 towers in Nigeria

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel Ltd rallied as much as 2.3 per cent in trade on Tuesday, after the telecom operator signed a deal to sell its 4,800-plus telecom towers in Nigeria to American Tower Corporation for around $1.05 billion (about Rs 6,463 crore).

Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Airtel signed the deal with ATC through its international arm, Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV. The world's fourth largest carrier attempts to lower its debt and turn around its loss-making operations in the continent.

At 09:25 a.m.; Bharti Airtel pared some of the morning gains but was still trading 1.6 per cent higher at Rs 405. It hit a low of Rs 404 and a high of Rs 408.20 in trade today.

"Airtel will be the anchor tenant on the portfolio under a lease with a 10-year initial term," the two companies said in a joint statement issued on Monday.

"Total consideration is expected to be approximately $1.05 billion, subject to customary adjustments," ATC said separately in its US regulatory filing, adding that it expected the acquisition to close in the first half next year, subject to regulatory and other conditions.

ET had reported in September that Bharti Airtel was likely to raise over $1 billion through sale of its Nigerian telecom towers to ATC. The development follows the sale of 3,100 towers by Bharti in July.