India's Bharti Airtel has arranged to sell 3,100 of its African towers to Helios Towers Africa.
The companies have announced plans for Airtel to sell towers in four countries to Helios, and then lease back access to the towers under a long-term contract.
The deal will probably also involve the transfer of a number of Airtel's tower operations personnel to Helios.
While the announcement did not disclose the financial terms or the four countries involved, the Economic Times quotes a source as stating that the deal is worth nearly $400 million, and that the four countries are Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Chad.
Airtel is rumored to be aiming to sell its entire African tower portfolio for up to $3 billion, and is reportedly also in talks with IHS, American Tower and Eaton Towers over potential sales.
The company has a presence in 17 African countries. Fifteen of these came from the $10.7 billion acquisition of Zain's African assets in 2010. The operator has yet to turn a profit from its African operations.
Business Standardestimates that after the sale to Helios, Airtel will be left with around 12,000 towers in the African region.