Bharti Airtel gets regulatory nod to buy Millicom’s Rwanda ops

Bharti Airtel gets regulatory nod to buy Millicom’s Rwanda ops

Bharti Airtel

MUMBAI: Telecommunications behemoth Bharti Airtel Ltd (Airtel) has received approval for the acquisition of Tigo Rwanda Ltd (Tigo Rwanda), a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular SA (Millicom), from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA).

According to Airtel’s release to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the  merged  entity  will  have  the  largest  customer  base  in  Rwanda  with  5.9  million subscribers.  The combined networks of the two companies will serve customers with voice/data services, global roaming and mobile banking services. It will also have Rwanda’s largest sales and distribution network.

“The merger will result in the only negative ebitda opco [operating company] joining other 13 positive ebitda opcos in Africa,” the release stated.

On completion, the acquisition is expected to strengthen Airtel’s market position in Rwanda.

With presence in 14 countries across Africa, Airtel is one of the largest telecom service providers on the continent in terms of geographical reach, and had close to 84 million customers at the end of quarter ended December 30, 2017.

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