UAE’s Etisalat has agreed to sell its operations in six West African countries to Maroc Telecom, which it is currently in the process of buying.
The assets, also known as Atlantique Telecom, are in Benin, the Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire,…
UAE’s Etisalat has agreed to sell its operations in six West African countries to Maroc Telecom, which it is currently in the process of buying.
The assets, also known as Atlantique Telecom, are in Benin, the Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Niger and Togo and are valued at around US$650m combined. These units provide both mobile voice and data services.
Etisalat said closing of the transaction is subject to the completion of its acquisition of a 53% stake in Maroc Telecom, as well as competition and regulatory approvals in the six above-mentioned countries.
The UAE company did not disclose the rationale behind the deal. But according to Matthew Reed, an analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, the decision has been motivated by Maroc Telecom’s success with its own subsidiaries in the region – Burkina Faso, Gabon, Mali and Mauritania.
He pointed to Maroc Telecom’s revenues from its international operations, which increased by 9.5% year-on-year in 2013.
The UAE operator agreed to buy a majority stake in the Moroccan incumbent from Vivendi for a total €4.2bn (US$5.8bn) last November. The deal is expected to close by the end of May.
To finance the deal, Etisalat recently signed a €3.15bn (US$4.36bn) loan agreement with 17 local, regional and international banks.
Etisalat, which operates in 15 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, first acquired 50% of Atlantique Telecom in 2005 for AED432m (US$117.6m). It regularly increased its stake in the company until 2010 when it bought the last remaining 18% for US$75m.
