Helios Towers, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest mobile phone tower operators, is reviving plans for an initial public offering, people familiar with the matter have said.
American Tower Corp has agreed to buy Eaton Towers for R27.2-billion as one of the few international providers of telecommunications infrastructure expands in the fast-growing African market.
Helios Towers wants to build a thousand telecommunication towers in South Africa in the next three years as it tries to capitalise on rapid growth in mobile services and shape up for an initial public offering.
Helios Towers, which earlier this week announced its entry into the South African market in a joint venture with Vulatel, said on Friday that is has acquired a controlling stake in SA Towers.
Helios Towers has earmarked $100-million (about R1.4-billion) for spending on telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa in the next three to four years.
Telecommunications tower operator Helios Towers has entered the South African market, promising big investments in infrastructure as the country moves to 5G.
South African telecommunications tower company Atlas Tower is in talks to bring in partners from the country’s black majority to help it expand at home and enter new markets, according to sources.
Helios Towers wants to enter South Africa within the next year, helping the mobile phone tower operator build scale as it prepares for a stock market listing as early as 2019.
Helios Towers is investing tens of millions of dollars in the Democratic Republic of Congo and looking for acquisitions as the African phone-tower operator seeks to move on from a scrapped initial public offering earlier this year.
And then there were none. At the dawn of 2018, three African phone tower companies had dreams of selling shares in London or New York. The most optimistic estimates pegged their potential combined valuation at