Bharti Airtel today announced its deal to sell approximately 950 telecom towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Helios Towers Africa.

The deal will expand tower coverage of Helios Towers in Africa to over 6,500 owned towers. The telecom network operator did not disclose the value of the tower deal.

The deal will assist Bharti Airtel to cut debt and reduce ongoing capital expenditure in Africa.

Airtel will have access to the towers from Helios Towers under a long term lease contract.

Christian De Faria, executive chairman, Bharti Airtel International, said: “The agreement is in line with our philosophy of divesting passive infrastructure and promoting sharing of towers to enhance operational efficiencies that will further the growth of telecom services.”