Shareholders of South African telco Telekom have voted in favor of the company’s planned sell-off of its tower business, Swiftnet, to Actis for $355 million.

The discussions for the sale to private equity firm, Actis, have been on since March 2024, subject to shareholder approval.

In a statement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) last week, Telkom noted that “Ordinary Resolution required to implement the disposal was approved by the requisite majority of votes.”

Telkom has announced the sale of its masts and towers business, Swiftnet, in a move aimed at generating funds to reduce debt and invest in core businesses and growth opportunities. The sale, first reported in November, marks a strategic shift for the telco, which had initially planned to publicly list the tower unit. Swiftnet operates an extensive network of 6,200 towers across South Africa. This deal follows a similar move by Telkom’s domestic rival, MTN Group, which sold 5,701 cellular and radiocommunication towers to IHS Towers in 2022 as part of a sale and lease-back agreement. The sale is expected to unlock significant value for Telkom and support its growth ambitions.