AFRICA – British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution, and impact investor, announced its participation in Helios Towers’ US$850 million public bond offering, with a US$30 million anchor commitment.
Helios Towers is Africa’s leading independent telecoms infrastructure company, operating towers on over 14,000 sites.
It operates in nine countries, including Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, the Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar and Malawi.
“As the UK’s DFI, we are pleased to back Helios Tower’s public bond issuance as an anchor investor and be able to mobilize international commercial capital,” Chris Chijiutomi, managing director and head of Africa at BII, said.
“This will help channel money to the regions that need it the most and improve information and communications services, leading to more inclusive economic growth.”
The public bond offering, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), will help the company refinance its existing debt and improve access to information and communications services, particularly by targeting low mobile and 4G penetration levels across its geographies.
“We are delighted to announce the successful pricing of our bond offering. This reflects the company’s track record and market diversification since our last bond offering and expected cash flow generation through to 2026,” Manjit Dhillon, chief financial officer at Helios Towers, said.
“We thank our bond investors for their ongoing support of the company and look forward to delivering value for all stakeholders through our sustainable business strategy in the years ahead.”
This is the second LSE-listed public bond issuance BII has anchored, following the successful launch of the NMB Sustainability Bond on LSE earlier in May.
This comes after Helios Towers announced that its subsidiary, HTA Group, successfully priced a US$850 million offering of 7.500% Senior Notes due 2029.
The Notes will be issued for 99.488% of the principal amount, with interest payable semi-annually beginning on December 4, 2024.
While this is BII’s second LSE-listed public bond issuance, it recently signed a US$30 million financing agreement with TowerCo of Africa Tanzania (TOA Tanzania), a telecommunications infrastructure provider, to expand the latter’s operations. TOA Tanzania also aims to build about 200 new telecommunications sites using the funds.
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