Business
Bharti Airtel moves to acquire Warid Telecom Uganda
Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile telecom operator revealed Tuesday that it t has entered into a definitive agreement with United Arab Emirates-based Warid Group to acquire Warid Telecom Uganda, strengthening its footprint in the African region.
This will consolidate Bharti Airtel as the second largest mobile operator in Uganda with a combined customer base of approximately 7.5 million and market share of over 39 percent.
Bharti Airtel entered the African market in 2010 after acquiring Zain Telecom – which had a presence in 17 African countries.
“We are delighted at this agreement with Warid Telecom, which also happens to be the first in-market acquisition in Bharti Airtel’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,” Bharti Airtel CEO (International) Manoj Kohli said.
The development will bring the number of mobile operators to 6 in Uganda, including South Africa’s MTN; Bharti Airtel, Uganda Telecom, Orange, Smile and K2.