Orange and Bharti Airtel International Wednesday inked a deal that will allow Orange’s acquisition of Airtel’s operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone in a strategy to invest in emerging markets.
This comes a day after agreeing to buy Cellcom Liberia.
Orange will acquire 100% stake in the two companies’ share capital.
The two units of the Indian telecommunications group have combined annual sales of around $298m (£200m), Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
Orange and Bharti Airtel first disclosed they were holding deal talks in July.
At the time, Orange said it was exploring the possibility of acquiring Airtel’s operations in Chad and Congo Brazzaville, in addition to Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.
No purchase price was given, but Orange said it would be around eight times both companies’ annual operating profits before taxes and charges.
The deal, still subject to regulatory approval, will add 5.5 million mobile phone customers to Orange’s portfolio, the firm said.
It will also raise Orange’s presence in Africa to 20 countries.
On Tuesday, Orange said it had agreed to buy Cellcom, Liberia’s second-biggest operator, for an undisclosed sum.
These acquisitions, according to Airtel, will be implemented in partnership with Orange’s subsidiaries in the Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.
This week’s three acquisitions are in line with Orange’s international development strategy, under which the telco aims to grow revenues in the Middle East and Africa by 20% in 2015-2018.
