Bharti Airtel to acquire Warid Telecom Uganda from UAE’s Warid Group

Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom service provider, yesterday struck a deal to buy Uganda's third-largest mobile operator, Warid Telecom Uganda, from UAE-based Warid Group, for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition will add 2.8 million customers to Bharti Airtel's global customer base of over 269 million, the company said in a statement.

Post acquisition, Bharti Airtel will further consolidate its position as the second-largest mobile operator in Uganda with a customer base of over 7.4 million and market share of over 39 per cent.

Currently, MTN is the market leader with 7.7 million customers, Bharti Airtel has 4.6 million and Warid 2.8 million.

Bharti Airtel did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but analysts have suggested that the New Delhi-based company has paid around $250-$280 million.

Bharti Airtel, run by Sunil Mittal, had entered the African market in 2010 by acquiring Zain Telecom's operations in 15 African countries for $9 billion. It has now expanded to 17 African countries, including Nigeria and Uganda

"We are delighted at this agreement with Warid, 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," said Manoj Kohli, Bharti Airtel MD and CEO (International).

"We are extremely pleased with this development, which offers Warid consumers added benefits like wider network coverage, most extensive 3G network and world class products and services from one of the world's largest mobile services provider," said Mohammed Nahayan, Warid Uganda board member.

Bharti Airtel is the world's fourth largest mobile phone operator having operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa.