Orange and Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV (Airtel) have signed an agreement, under which Orange will acquire Airtel’s operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.
This operation comes on the heels of the purchase of the 100% of Cellcom Liberia, which was announced by the French telecom multinational yesterday and still pending from the approval by the competent authorities.
These acquisitions provide a clear illustration of Orange’s international development strategy, which places a priority on accelerating growth in high-potential, emerging markets where the Group is not already present.
Both operations help Orange strengthening its positions in Africa, which is a strategic priority for the Group.
Liberia is a country of over 4.3 million inhabitants, with a mobile penetration rate of 66%, lower than in many neighbouring countries. With a national mobile license and its significant market share in the country in number of subscribers, Cellcom has excellent potential for growth over the coming years.
The deal signed with Airtel reinforce its presence in Africa with two countries more, adding almost 5.5 million customers to its mobile customer base. This acquisition marks an important step forward in Orange’s dynamic growth strategy and will bring the Group’s African footprint up to 20 countries in 2016.
The contract inked now goes further than the initial agreement signed between Airtel and Orange in July 2015 regarding the potential acquisition of Airtel’s operations in Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Chad and Congo Brazzaville. The agreements regarding potential transactions in the remaining two countries have lapsed.
Image over the headline.- Stéphane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Orange. © Antonin Bourgeaud (Havas) for Orange.
