Orange company and a Senegalese Sonatel have announced the joint acquisition of of 100 per cent of the mobile operator Airtel in Sierra Leone.
Commenting on the acquisition, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Orange group and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orange Middle East and Africa, Bruno Mettling, said: “we are pleased to announce that the acquisition of the mobile operator Airtel in Sierra Leone has been finalized. This new acquisition, which will be consolidated by Sonatel, will further strengthen Orange’s strategic position on the African continent.”
The acquisition deal was announced on Tuesday by Orange, saying that it has obtained all the official approbations necessary to complete this transaction after the signature of an agreement with Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV in January 2016.
Airtel is the leading mobile operator in Sierra Leone with over 1.3 million customers (on the basis of active customers within a 30-day period) for a total population of 6.3 million people.
With a mobile penetration of around 50 per cent of the population, Sierra Leone offers considerable growth potential, particularly at a time when significant investments are underway to extend the operator’s 3G network.
This network, which already offers good coverage in Freetown and other major towns in Sierra Leone, is set to provide internet access to customers living outside major urban areas.
The investments planned in the coming years will enable customers in Sierra Leone to benefit from the support of the Sonatel group and take advantage of the Orange group’s expertise and momentum in terms of innovation and development of the digital ecosystem.
Following the recent launch of operations in Liberia and Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone becomes the 21st country in Africa and the Middle East to join the Orange group. [myad]
