Airtel Africa, a Netherlands-based telecommunications unit of Indian Bharti Airtel, has secured $1.3 billion investment from international investors.
The investment came from six sources, including U.S.-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Japanese technology to retail giant Softbank, Singaporean investment holding firm Temasek, which invested $250 million, Temasek-owned Singaporean communications company Singtel and two more unnamed investors.
The deal will help Airtel Africa further deleverage its balance sheet and boost its capacity to upgrade networks, expand coverage in different markets and achieve rapid growth of Airtel Money across its operations.
The company will also use the capital raised to reduce its existing $5 billion debt and expand its African operations ahead of a proposed listing, which is expected in early 2019. UK-based law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Airtel Africa on the deal.