Telecom Egypt to Divest Cairo Data Centre Hub to Helios
Telecom Egypt has announced plans to divest the majority of its Regional Data Hub (RDH) campus in Cairo, approving a US$230m offer from Helios Investment Partners (Helios).
The deal, once completed, will see Helios take a 75-80% stake in a newly created subsidiary that will own the RDH data centre assets.
Telecom Egypt will retain a 20-25% holding in the venture, while the subsidiary will continue to focus on developing data centre infrastructure in the country.
Valuation and deal structure
The binding offer submitted by Helios Investments values the RDH business at US$230m, with the potential to rise to US$260m if pre-agreed performance targets are met.
EFG Hermes is acting as the sole M&A advisor for the transaction, while legal counsel is being provided by ADSERO-Ragy Soliman & Partners and A&O Shearman.
Founded in 2004, Helios is a London-based private equity firm specialising in investments across Africa.
Its portfolio includes previous stakes in Afsat Communications, Helios Towers and majority ownership in data centre businesses such as Morocco’s Maroc Datacenter and Kenya’s IXAfrica. In October 2022, Helios divested its 60% stake in Telkom Kenya to the Kenyan government.
Inside Cairo’s Regional Data Hub
The RDH campus, first announced in 2020, is designed as a multi-phase digital infrastructure hub.
The first phase went live in 2021 with an IT load of 2.5MW, reaching full utilisation within a year of launch. The second phase, RDH2, is under development with a planned capacity of 4.6MW.
At full build-out, the campus will consist of four buildings capable of hosting around 4,000 racks, making it one of Egypt’s most significant data centre projects to date.
The divestment of the campus forms part of a wider strategy for Telecom Egypt, which has been seeking to capitalise on its infrastructure assets while bringing in specialist partners to accelerate growth.
Expanding Egypt’s digital infrastructure
Telecom Egypt already operates six commercial data centres across Greater Cairo and Alexandria. The company has positioned itself as a key player in the country’s push to expand digital infrastructure, particularly as demand for cloud and AI services grows across the Middle East and Africa.
Helios’ entry into the Egyptian market through this transaction is expected to provide fresh capital and expertise to expand RDH’s footprint. The firm has a track record of scaling telecommunications and data infrastructure across Africa, with its data centre portfolio already spanning multiple countries.
The agreement also highlights increasing investor interest in Egypt as a digital hub. With its strategic location linking Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Egypt is emerging as a key market for hyperscalers and enterprise customers seeking reliable regional hosting capacity.
Outlook for the sector
The divestment of RDH to Helios signals one of the most significant data centre transactions in North Africa in recent years. It reflects both the increasing appetite of global investors to back African digital infrastructure and the growing role of Egypt as a key market in the regional data centre ecosystem.
For Telecom Egypt, retaining a minority stake ensures continued involvement in one of its flagship projects while unlocking capital for further infrastructure investment. For Helios, the deal provides a new platform to expand its data centre portfolio and position Cairo as a regional hub for enterprise and cloud services.