UAE telco Etisalat has reportedly received offers from three multinational telcos for its controlling stake in Tanzanian mobile operator Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel).
South Africa-based Vodacom and India’s Bharti Airtel have submitted bids for the 65%…
UAE telco Etisalat has reportedly received offers from three multinational telcos for its controlling stake in Tanzanian mobile operator Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel).
South Africa-based Vodacom and India’s Bharti Airtel have submitted bids for the 65% stake, Bloomberg reported citing three people with knowledge of the matter. Luxembourg-based Millicom has also bid, according to one of the sources who also said Zantel is valued at about US$300m.
All three reported suitors already have operations in Tanzania. Vodacom is the country’s largest mobile operator followed by Airtel and Millicom’s Tigo.
Vodafone, Vodacom’s controlling shareholder, Bharti, Millicom and Etisalat have all declined to comment on the matter.
Last September, Etisalat reportedly hired Deutsche Bank to advise it on a potential sale of its stake in Zantel, the country’s fourth-largest mobile player.
Zantel’s other shareholders are the Zanzibar government, which has an 18% stake and Meeco International Company, which has a 17% interest.
The operator, which provides fixed, mobile and data services, claims to be the country’s largest ISP.
