Africell Holding is eyeing acquisition opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, planning to pursue them once it has turned around its latest target, Orange Uganda.
Africell CEO Ziad Dalloul told TelecomFinance the Beirut, Lebanon-based company is “looking…
Africell Holding is eyeing acquisition opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, planning to pursue them once it has turned around its latest target, Orange Uganda.
Africell CEO Ziad Dalloul told TelecomFinance the Beirut, Lebanon-based company is “looking at a few opportunities” for expansion in the region.
He stressed, however, that the company – which currently has mobile operations in Gambia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo – never makes an acquisition before it turns around its newest business.
Africell reached an agreement to buy French incumbent Orange’s 95% stake in Orange Uganda in May. Financial details were not disclosed but TelecomFinance understands the deal value was about US$10m.
Dalloul expects to get regulatory approval for the deal within the next fortnight.
The CEO said the company has set itself the challenge of turning Orange Uganda, the country’s fourth largest mobile operator with more than 600,000 customers, within a year.
“But if it happens in six months, we could start looking then,” he said.
Orange Uganda has been facing stiff competition from MTN, Airtel and UT Mobile, however, Dalloul is confident that Africell will be able to “turn it into a positive”.
He said: “Orange has built a very good network with nationwide coverage and we’re a nimble organisation. We can react fast and encourage creativity in our organisation at every level.”
Africell is interested in two types of assets, he said: those in unsaturated markets with less than 50%-60% mobile penetration and operators which can be turned around. The potential for reducing capex by, for example, leasing towers and the level of competition are also important considerations, he added.
This criteria would likely rule out targets in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana. He cited Chad as a good market, but reemphasised that the company is just looking at opportunities at present.
Africell had a subscriber base of nine million across its three operations at the end of the first quarter. It is the leading mobile operator in Gambia and Sierra Leone.
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