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

Telkom confirmed in March that it was in talks with private equity firm Actis over the sale of Swiftnet, in a deal reported to be worth $355 million.

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.”

According to Telkom, the vote was unanimously in favor.

Telkom said the sale will help it to ease debts, and allow it to invest in its core businesses and other growth opportunities.

It was first reported in November that Telkom had entered exclusive negotiations over the sale of its masts and towers business, Swiftnet. At the time, the name of the proposed bidder wasn't mentioned.

The telco, which spun off its telecom towers and mast into a separate division in 2021, is looking to sell the assets to unlock more value in the business. The telco had previously planned to publicly list the tower unit.

Swiftnet operates 6,200 towers across South Africa. Telkom's domestic rival MTN Group sold 5,701 cellular and radiocommunication towers to IHS Towers in 2022, as part of a sale and lease-back deal.