Millicom receives a 24% stake in leading African towers company, Helios Towers Africa
Stockholm, 07 October, 2015 - Millicom and Helios Towers Africa (“HTA”), one of the leading, independent telecommunications towers companies in Africa, today announced that Millicom will own 24% of shares in HTA on a fully diluted basis following a shareholding reorganisation.
As a result of the reorganisation, Millicom will exchange shares which were previously held in HTA’s tower companies in Ghana, DRC and Tanzania, into shares in HTA’s parent company.
This transaction will simplify the share ownership structure of HTA, align interest among shareholders and move Millicom’s shareholding to the parent HTA company. The transaction does not change access to commercially sensitive information, which is held exclusively by HTA.
In 2010, HTA acquired, through its different operating companies, a portfolio of 2,450 Millicom-owned towers in Ghana, DRC and Tanzania. At that time, Millicom retained equity stakes in the individual tower companies. These equity positions are now being exchanged for shares in HTA.
HTA recently raised US$363 million in new equity from existing and new shareholders to fund acquisitions and new growth in existing markets. The share exchange is being undertaken at the same valuation as the funding round.
Press Enquiries
Tabitha Aldrich-Smith, Interim Communications Director
Tel: +352 277 59084 (Luxembourg) / +44 7971 919 610 / press@millicom.com
Investor Relations
Nicolas Didio, Director, Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +352 277 59125 (Luxembourg) / +44 203 249 2220 / investors@millicom.com
Bell Pottinger (Helios Towers Africa Enquiries)
Victoria Geoghegan / Nick Lambert / Philip Peck
Tel: +44 20 3772 2562
About Millicom
Millicom is a leading telecom and media company dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. Millicom sets the pace when it comes to providing innovative and customer-centric digital lifestyle services to the world’s emerging markets. The Millicom Group employs more than 16,000 people and provides mobile services to over 59 million customers. Founded in 1990, Millicom International Cellular SA is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the symbol MIC. In 2014, Millicom generated revenue of USD 6.4 billion and EBITDA of USD 2.1 billion.
About Helios Towers Africa
HTA is one of the leading, independent telecommunications towers companies in Africa with over 5000 towers under ownership and management, and a significant build pipeline
HTA currently operates in Ghana, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. HTA acquires, builds and manages telecom infrastructure, leasing it to operators in Africa. HTA pioneered the sale-leaseback model in Africa, buying towers held by single operators and leasing them back to the seller and multiple other operators simultaneously. Both HTA’s model of shared telecoms infrastructure and its scale, help deliver improved efficiency for operators, reduced costs for users and increased accessibility; and HTA has been operational since 2009 and its investors include: Helios Investment Partners, Albright Capital Management, RIT Capital Partners, Quantum Strategic Partners Ltd, the International Finance Corporation and ALAC.
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