AZB & Partners advised Bharti Airtel in selling over a fifth of its 15,000 telecom towers located in four African countries to Helios Towers Africa, which was advised by Vinson & Elkins.

AZB Delhi partner Gautam Saha, senior associate Amrita Patnaik and associates Asha Kutty and Srishti Sharma are understood to have acted for the world’s fourth largest telco, which is a very regular M&A client of the firm’s Delhi office.

Vinson London partner Robert Dixon acted for Helios.

Bharti Airtel is raising funds to pare debt and reduce costs, reported the Economic Times. The company carries a debt of over $10bn, reported the TOI.

The two companies didn’t disclose the size of the 3,100-tower deal or the names of the four countries. But a person familiar with the matter told ET that it’s worth close to $400m. Market analysts pegged the deal at a little less than $1bn, according to TOI.