Over the past three years, Helios Towers has multiplied the acquisitions of telecom towers in South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar, Malawi, Chad, Gabon, Tanzania, DRC… In June 2021 , the company had raised $160 million to fund the expansion of its portfolio.
Helios Towers, an independent telecom infrastructure manager focused on Africa, is preparing to expand its operations in the Middle East. This was confirmed by Tom Greenwood (pictured), the company’s Chairman and CEO, in an interview with Mobile World Live .
This expansion of Helios Towers follows the company’s acquisition of the telecom tower assets of the Omani operator Omantel in December 2022. The company therefore wants to start its activities in the Middle East in the Omani telecom market which has recently enriched with a new operator: Vodafone. The market was previously operated by a duopoly consisting of Omantel and Ooredoo.
“ It’s very interesting because as a tower company, if you have a number of towers in the country and a new mobile operator comes in, the fastest way for them to improve their coverage is to deploy from the towers you own. Now it can be a stepping stone to other markets in the Middle East ,” Mr. Greenwood said.
The expansion in the Middle East is a logical continuation of the growth strategy of Helios Towers. Over the past three years, the company has multiplied the acquisitions of telecom towers in Africa, particularly in South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar, Malawi, Chad, Gabon, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC )…By June 2021, the company had raised $160 million to strengthen its balance sheet and purchase telecom tower assets in new and existing markets.
With the acquisition of Omantel’s assets and expansion into the Middle East, Helios hopes to operate 22,000 towers by 2026, up from 14,000 currently.
Source: Agence Ecofin
