Tanzania's telecoms regulator on Friday licensed Helios Towers Africa to run mobile phone towers in the east African country after the U.K.-based firm bought towers from a subsidiary of emerging markets telecoms group Millicom .
Helios Towers purchased 1,180 towers from Millicom's subsidiary Tigo Tanzania in December for at least $80 million cash up front.
As part of the deal, Tigo Tanzania will hold a significant minority interest of 40 percent in the tower company, Helios said.
"Helios Towers Africa ... has today been granted the first licence by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority to independently operate a network of telecoms towers," the company said.
"This ... confirms the completion of Tanzania's first tower-sharing leaseback deal."
In a similar deal, Millicom's subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo agreed to sell 729 towers for at least $45 million cash to Helios Towers.
"We have seen significant success with our operations in Nigeria and Ghana and we look forward to bringing the same experience and benefits to Tanzania," Charles Green, CEO of Helios Towers Africa, said in a statement.
Telecoms is the fastest-growing sector in Tanzania, accounting for 20 percent of gross domestic product. The country has one of the most competitive mobile phone markets in Africa, with around 20 million subscribers out of its population of about 40.7 million.
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