Bharti Airtel has entered into an agreement to fully acquire Warid Group’s Congo operations making it the largest operator in the country with 2.6 million subscribers from its 1.6 million customers at present.
The deal, subject to regulatory and statutory approvals is the second in-country acquisition by Airtel in Africa, just months after it fully acquired Warid’s Uganda. Warid Congo subscribers will automatically become Airtel Congo subscribers and put on matching tariffs.
The deal when through will strengthen Airtel’s operations in the Congo-Brazzaville as Warid Congo-Brazzaville subscribers will join Airtel’s user-base over 280 million subscribers globally.
According to Manoj Kohli, managing director and chief executive officer (International), Bharti Airtel, “This acquisition is in line with our stated strategy of strengthening our market position through in-country acquisitions, as and when suitable opportunities comes along. We are at an advanced stage of successfully integrating Waird’s Uganda operations with that of Airtel and look forward to a similarly swift transition in Congo-Brazzaville as well.”
The deal promises customers affordable data and roaming tariffs, innovative products, Airtel Money, world-class networks and customer care added Manoj. Airtel has a presence in 17 African countries.