DHAKA: In a bid to strengthen its footprint in the African market, Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it has entered into a definitive agreement with the Warid Group to acquire its Congo operations.

The acquisition will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in the Republic of Congo with around 2.6 million customers, the company said in a statement, reports The Hindu.

At present, Airtel is the second largest operator in that country with over 1.6 million customers, while Warid is the third largest with around one million customers.

‘... 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,’ the statement said.

It, however, did not reveal the financial details of the deal.

This is the second in-country acquisition by Airtel in Africa. It had acquired Warid’s Uganda operations earlier this year.

The Indian company said the agreement aims to bring together the strengths of Airtel and Warid in Congo Brazzaville and benefit customers in the form of affordable tariffs, superior 2G/ 3G network and affordable voice and data services.

With operations in 20 countries, Bharti Airtel is ranked fourth largest mobile operator globally and had over 280 million customers at the end of September 2013.

BDST: 1931 HRS, NOV 05, 2013
RoR/RK