MTN Group has appointed Citigroup and Standard Bank Group to advise on a sale and leaseback of some of the carrier’s South African telecommunications towers, according to people familiar with the matter.

MTN is looking to raise between R5-billion and R10-billion from the deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is ongoing. The Johannesburg-based firm will seek to attract interest from specialist tower companies operating on the continent, they said.

MTN hasn’t made a final decision about the scope or timing of the sale, the people said. The shares pared early gains to trade 0.7% higher as of 3.54pm in Johannesburg, and are down 23% over a 12-month period.

MTN, Citi and Standard Bank declined to comment.

The sale of part of MTN’s 13 000-strong South African tower portfolio would go towards the company’s plans to raise R25-billion from asset disposals over the next three to five years. The carrier exited stakes in tower assets in Ghana and Uganda as part of an earlier sales drive, and last year offloaded a minority interest in e-commerce group Jumia Technologies.

Tower companies such as IHS Holding and American Tower Corporation have been expanding in Africa to tap rising demand for broadband and take up of smartphones. South Africa is in the process of rolling out 5G services and boosting rural mobile coverage, and is planning to auction new high-speed Internet spectrum in March. — (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP