Etisalat is considering selling its Nigerian towers and has hired Standard Bank as its advisor for the proposed sale, according to Reuters.

Etisalat Nigeria owns about 2,500 worth $150,000 each, but is keen to sell them due the high cost attached with managing telecom towers in the country.

“Johannesburg-based Standard Bank, Africa’s largest lender, has been hired due to its local presence and expertise in the African country,” two sources close to matter told Reuters.

Etisalat Nigeria is jointly owned by UAE-based Etisalat and Abu Dhabi equity fund Mubadala, controlling 40 percent and 30 percent respectively. 

A potential sale could attract revenue of up to $400 million for the Gulf telecom giant. 

Infrastructural deficiencies and poor security often raise the cost of operating towers in Nigeria, with companies forced to source alternatives to public electricity by acquiring generators, while cases of vandalized towers forces firms to spend more on maintenance or replacement.

Such additional costs push telecom operators towards trading off their assets to tower-focused companies such as IHS, Helios and Eaton Towers, with MTN selling 1,200 Rwandan and Zambian assets to IHS last year.