India’s Bharti Airtel is said to be in talks to acquire the Congolese subsidiary of Warid International, according to the Hindu Business Line. It is understood that negotiations between the two companies are at an advanced stage, with suggestions that a deal could be announced within the next month. Meanwhile, sources ‘close to the negotiations’ were cited as saying that the nature of the deal had yet to be finalised, although it was claimed that the two companies were eyeing a strategic partnership in Congo.
Warid International, which is wholly owned by UAE-based Abu Dhabi Group, is said to have been looking to divest its Congo operations for some time, with previous efforts to sell the unit to India’s Essar Group falling through in June 2011; the deal was called off with Essar citing difficulty in getting regulatory clearance.
07 Nov 2013
