Acquisition to consolidate the
Rwandan telecom market and position Airtel as a strong number 2 operator in
Rwanda with revenues of over USD 80 million and a revenue market share of over
40%
· Existing
Millicom Rwanda customers will join over 370 million customers on Airtel’s
global network across 17 countries and enjoy the benefits of a superior
network, international roaming, and high quality 3G, 4G speed as well as Airtel
Money services
New
Delhi, December 19, 2017: Bharti
Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), a leading global telecommunications services
provider with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa, today said
that, through its subsidiaries, it has entered into a definitive agreement with
Millicom International Cellular S.A. ("Millicom") under which
Airtel Rwanda Limited (“Airtel Rwanda”) will acquire 100% equity interest in
Tigo Rwanda Limited (“Tigo Rwanda”). The acquisition will consolidate the
Rwandan telecom market and position Airtel as a strong number 2 operator in
Rwanda. The consideration for the transaction is based on approximately 6x
EBITDA multiple, payable over two years. The agreement is subject to regulatory
and statutory approvals.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel, said, “Airtel has taken proactive steps in Africa to
consolidate and realign the market structure in the last few remaining
countries where its operations are lagging on account of lower market share and
presence of too many operators. Airtel and Tigo have already merged their
operations to create a strong viable entity in Ghana. Today, it has taken yet
another important step to acquire Tigo Rwanda to become a profitable and a
strong challenger in a two-player market.
We are also committed to the long term viability of our operations
in two other countries i.e. Kenya and Tanzania, to ensure that in 2018 all our
15 operations in Africa start contributing positive margins and cash flows
towards a healthy and profitable Airtel Africa.”
The
agreement aims to bring together the strengths of Airtel and Millicom in Rwanda
and offer benefits to customers in the form of a wider network, affordable
voice and data services, and superior customer care. The existing customers of
Tigo Rwanda will join Airtel’s global network, which currently serves over 370
million customers across 17 countries. They will enjoy, amongst other things,
benefits of the ‘One Airtel’ network with lower roaming rates across Africa and
South Asia, an exciting bouquet of innovative services including Airtel Money.
Raghunath
Mandava, MD and CEO, Airtel Africa,
said, “The acquisition reinforces our commitment to the Rwanda market and is a
significant step towards creating a stronger presence in the country. It will
create synergies with our existing business and help boost operational
efficiencies in the market. The Rwandan telecom market will significantly
benefit from this acquisition, further reiterating our stand that in-market
consolidations do not just help achieve better market positions but benefit
customers and the industry as a whole.”
On
completion, the proposed acquisition will undergo seamless integration, both on
the customer as well as the network side, and further strengthen our market
position.
Over
the years Airtel has been solidifying its market position to become a key
player in the continent with in-country acquisitions. In the past, Airtel
acquired assets in Uganda (Warid) and Congo B (Warid), Kenya (yu Mobile) and
consolidated operations in Ghana (Millicom). The customers in these markets
today enjoy a superior and wider network, affordable voice & data services,
Airtel Money and better customer care.
With
presence across 15 African countries, Airtel is one of the largest telecom
service providers across the continent in terms of geographical reach and had
close to 83 million customers at the end of quarter ended September 30, 2017.
Globally, Airtel is ranked as the third largest mobile services provider in
terms of customer base.
-END-
About Bharti Airtel
Limited:
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications
company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered
in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service
providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product
offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line
services, high speed home broadband, DTH, enterprise services including
national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of
the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G, 4G wireless services and mobile commerce.
Bharti Airtel had over 386 million customers across its operations at the end
of October 2017. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com.
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