The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has unconditionally approved French infrastructure investor Stoa’s $27 million (Sh3.5 billion) bid to acquire Atlas Tower Kenya Limited.

Atlas, owned by Kalahari Capital LLC, has been operating in Kenya since 2019 with more than 450 telecom towers to date, providing key connectivity infrastructure to local Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom.

Stoa, meanwhile, is an impact investment firm incorporated in France, specialising in investment in infrastructure and energy projects in emerging and developing countries.

The company, through Stoa Africa Limited, is acquiring a 31.03 percent minority shareholding with veto rights in Atlas Kenya to provide it with access to additional capital to expand its Kenyan operations.

According to the mobile and wireless infrastructure community TowerXchange, there were 12,555 telecommunication towers in Kenya as of January 2025.

Safaricom leads the market with 58.94 percent of the tower infrastructure footprint, followed by ATC Kenya with 32.64 percent, while Atlas Kenya has a 3.25 percent market share.

The CAK approved Stoa’s acquisition of Atlas, saying it will not affect the structure and concentration of the Kenyan telecoms market because the French firm is not engaged in a similar business.

“The authority determined that the transaction is unlikely to lead to a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in the market for provision of telecommunication infrastructure in Kenya, nor elicit negative public interest concerns,” said the competition watchdog.

Telecommunication towers are fitted with antennas, transmitters, and receivers to support cellular networks by enabling voice, data, and broadband connectivity.

However, mobile operators have recently been selling off much of their infrastructure to free up capital and lease towers from independent providers that own and manage their own infrastructure.

Through infrastructure sharing, tower companies can own and operate the passive infrastructure, then lease space, power, and other services to multiple MNOs and ISPs, reducing their capital expenditure on building their own infrastructure.

It also allows the network and internet service companies to deploy new services and upgrades quickly.

Providing tower infrastructure could also entail constructing a new tower at a specified site and within agreed timelines to meet a telco’s requirements.

In 2021, Atlas Kenya invested $48.9 million (Sh6.3 billion at current exchange rates) in the installation of 4G towers countrywide, with backing from the International Finance Corporation.

Now, with the Stoa acquisition, the tower company says it plans to boost its infrastructure portfolio and improve solar power and battery storage systems across its network.

“We will scale our tower portfolio, strengthen the sustainability of our operations, improve power generation, and reach more communities with critical wireless infrastructure,” said Randi Clendennen, Atlas Kenya Chief Strategy Officer.

→ dmusau@ke.nationmedia.com