Airtel sells some African units to Orange

Orange, a one of Africa’s large mobile telecommunications operators, has just bought out Airtel in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone, it stated in a press release sent out yesterday.

The acquisition value is almost 8 times what Airtel has been earnings (EBITDA) in those two countries which according to the report make annual revenues of 275 million Euros. Orange will take over 100% of both companies and also adds about 5.5 million subscribers to its existing base.

Orange has been buying out many mobile operations in Africa making its presence available in 20 countries so far. Last year it made a deal with Airtel to buy its mobile operations in Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Chad and Congo Brazzaville, which are now all theirs.

We will contact Airtel Group press office for more details and implications for Zambia.