The Gabon government supports Indian telco Bharti Airtel’s take-over of the local subsidiary of Zain, claims the Kuwaiti company.
Gabon has changed its mind since the end of March when it argued that the take-over would not go ahead because Zain Gabon…
The Gabon government supports Indian telco Bharti Airtel’s take-over of the local subsidiary of Zain, claims the Kuwaiti company.
Gabon has changed its mind since the end of March when it argued that the take-over would not go ahead because Zain Gabon had failed to comply with local telecoms regulations, said Nabil bin Salamah, CEO of Zain Group.
“We have received confirmation from the Gabon government advising us that they have no objection to the transaction between Zain and Bharti Airtel,” said Salamah in a statement.
In its first quarter results, Bharti Airtel said that it expected to complete its US$10.7bn acquisition of Zain’s 15 country operations in sub-Saharan African in the middle of May.
The transaction, which is Africa’s largest-ever deal, covers operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has also attacked the sale.