Bharti Airtel to buy rest of Bangladesh's Warid Telecom

Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom service provider, today said that it will acquire the remaining 30-per cent stake it does not already own in Bangladesh's Warid Telecom.

Bharti Airtel, which had acquired 70 per cent in Warid Telecom, Bangladesh in January 2010 for a reported $300 million, said that Bharti Airtel Holdings (Singapore) Pte, its wholly-owned subsidiary will acquire the remaining 30-per cent stake of UAE-based Warid Group in Airtel Bangladesh.

Bharti Airtel, which did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, said that post acquisition, it would own 100 per cent of Airtel Bangladesh.

The move comes just a few days after Bharti Airtel struck a deal to buy Uganda's third-largest mobile operator, Warid Telecom Uganda from Warid, for an undisclosed sum.

Bangladesh has 99.871 million mobile phone users, and Bharti Airtel is the 4th largest with around 7.4 million users or 7.4 per cent market share behind market leaders Grameen Phone, Banglalink and Robi Axiata.