Bharti Airtel on Tuesday confirmed that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the Warid Group to fully acquire Warid Congo SA. The agreement is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals.

In-country acquisition

The agreement marks the second in-country acquisition by Airtel in Africa. It had acquired Warid’s Uganda operations earlier this year. The latest acquisition will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in Congo Brazzaville with around 2.6 million customers.

At present, Airtel is the second largest operator in the country with over 1.6 million customers, while Warid is the third largest with around one million customers. Business Line had reported the deal on Monday.

Speaking on the agreement, Manoj Kohli, MD and CEO (International), Bharti Airtel, said: “This acquisition is in line with our stated strategy of strengthening our market position through in-country acquisitions, as and when suitable opportunities come along. We are at an advance stage of successfully integrating Warid’s Uganda operations with that of Airtel and look forward to a similarly swift transition in Congo Brazzaville as well. As already demonstrated in Uganda, the merger will bring more value for the customers in the form of affordable data & roaming tariffs, innovative products, Airtel Money, world-class networks and customer care. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Government and look forward to its support to this deal. ”

Sriram Yarlagadda, Board Member, Warid, Congo Brazzaville, said: “This agreement creates a win-win situation for the customers and provide them with an opportunity to be part of one of the largest mobile services providers in the world. The customers can look forward to enjoy affordable voice tariffs and 3G data services on the most extensive network.”

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