Wednesday, 6 November 2013 00:00
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Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, yesterday said that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the Warid Group to fully acquire Warid Congo SA. The agreement is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals.
The agreement marks the second in-country acquisition by Airtel in Africa. It had acquired Warid’s Uganda operations earlier this year. The latest acquisition will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in Congo Brazzaville with around 2.6 million customers. At present, Airtel is the second largest operator in the country with over 1.6 million customers, while Warid is the third largest with around one million customers.
The agreement aims to bring together the strengths of Airtel and Warid in Congo Brazzaville and benefit customers in the form of affordable tariffs, superior 2G/3G network, affordable voice and data services and superior customer care. In addition, existing Warid customers in Congo Brazzaville will join Airtel’s global network of over 280 million customers and enjoy the benefits of ‘One Airtel’ network with affordable roaming rates across Africa and South Asia, besides other exciting bouquet of innovative 2G and 3G services.
More value for customers
Speaking on the agreement, Bharti Airtel MD and CEO (International) Manoj Kohli said, “This acquisition is in line with our stated strategy of strengthening our market position through in-country acquisitions, as and when suitable opportunities come along. We are at an advance stage of successfully integrating Warid’s Uganda operations with that of Airtel and look forward to a similarly swift transition in Congo Brazzaville as well. As already demonstrated in Uganda, the merger will bring more value for the customers in the form of affordable data and roaming tariffs, innovative products, Airtel Money, world-class networks and customer care. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Government and look forward to its support to this deal.”
