Bharti Airtel's Africa tower sale plan to Helios called off

Bharti Airtel's ambitious efforts to cut its Rs 60,000 crore debt pile via sale of its Africa tower business has hit a hurdle -- at least partially. The sale of tower assets in two countries to Helios Towers has been called off, reports CNBC-TV18's Kritika Saxena.

Sources say the deal was called off because of valuations. Airtel was demanding about Rs 3,000-3,400 crore while Helios was willing to offer about Rs 2,500-2,600 crore. Further, the deadline before which the deal was supposed to be inked lapsed before an agreement could be arrived at between the two parties.

However, negotiations for sale of asset towers in two other countries continue for Airtel.