Bharti Airtel set to buy Warid Telecom Uganda

Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest telco by revenue and customers signed an agreement to buy rival Warid Telecom Uganda for an undisclosed sum, reinforcing its position as the second-largest mobile phone firm in Uganda with a 39% market share, just behind market leader MTN, which controls 49%.
Though the deal size wasn’t disclosed, top executives aware of the matter said Bharti Airtel bought 100% stake from the Abu Dhabi Group, owner of the Warid Telecom, in an all-cash deal..
Financial circles close to the development, however, peg the deal size at roughly $100 million or Rs.550 crore, but Airtel declined to confirm this. Bharti Airtel’s MD & CEO (International) Manoj Kohli claimed the Warid Uganda deal “is the first in-market acquisition” in the telco’s history. “We believe this market consolidation offers great synergies by bringing together the best of Airtel and Warid to better serve customers in Uganda,” he said.
Warid Uganda board member Mohammed Nahayan claimed the deal with Airtel would offer Warid consumers added benefits “like wider network coverage, access to the most extensive 3G network and world class products and services”.
The deal with Warid will increase Bharti Airtel’s customer base in Uganda by nearly 61% to 7.4 million from the present 4.6 million. The country has over 16 million mobile customers and the other key operators are Uganda Telecom and Orange.
The world’s fourth-largest telco by customers, Bharti Airtel, said it had entered into a definitive agreement with the Warid Group to “fully acquire” its Uganda unit. “The pact is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals,” both companies said.
Warid’s 2.8 million customers in Uganda will join Airtel’s global network that reaches out to over 269 million subscribers. “They will enjoy benefits of the ‘One Airtel’ network with lower roaming rates across Africa and South Asia and also experience benefits of higher 3G speeds and Airtel Money services,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement. Bharti Airtel is currently organised into two separate units — India and South Asia, which accounts for 75% of revenues, and Africa, where it has operations in 17 countries. Last August, Bharti concluded executing the ‘One Airtel structure’ in India and South Asia.