India’s largest telco Bharti Airtel is in advanced discussions with Etisalat to sell its Sri Lankan mobile operations, two people aware of the situation told the Economic Times.
A deal could see UAE-operator Etisalat merge its own unit in the country…
India’s largest telco Bharti Airtel is in advanced discussions with Etisalat to sell its Sri Lankan mobile operations, two people aware of the situation told the Economic Times.
A deal could see UAE-operator Etisalat merge its own unit in the country with Bharti Airtel Lanka to create Sri Lanka’s second-largest mobile carrier. Etisalat Sri Lanka is currently the third-biggest operator.
Airtel Lanka, number four on the island, has been valued at US$110-US$130m, according to the newspaper. Standard Chartered is reportedly advising the Indian operator on the sale.
Bharti and Etisalat could not be reached for comment before the press deadline.
This report comes a few months after local media wrote that Malaysian telco Axiata had approached Bharti to acquire its Sri Lankan business. Axiata is estimated to already have a 40% share of the Sri Lankan market, home to five mobile operators, through its Dialog Axiata unit.
With a US$12.71bn debt load and declining revenues, Bharti Airtel has been exploring ways of strengthening its balance sheet by focusing on its core operations. The sale of Airtel Lanka, which is facing tough competition in the market where mobile penetration is around 96%, would fall under this strategy.
Recently, Bharti Airtel was rumoured to be considering the disposal of minority stakes in its landline and enterprise businesses. Separately, the operator consolidated its position in Uganda and Bangladesh via stake purchases.
Bharti is present in approximately 20 countries globally, principally in Asia and Africa.
