Bharti Airtel’s investment for buying remaining 30 percent stake in Airtel Bangladesh is around $80 million.
In 2010, Airtel invested around $300 million for 70 percent stake. This implies that Airtel is buying the remaining stake at a lower value.
The Bangladesh government has approved the transaction of Bharti Airtel, India’s #1 telecom operator, to have 100 percent equity in Airtel Bangladesh, the fourth largest mobile operator in the country.
Airtel Bangladesh has 7.472 million mobile users in Bangladesh against market leader Grameen Phone’s 41.79 million.
The telecommunication ministry, following its approval, notified Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), National Board of Revenue (NBR), Board of Investment (BoI) and Registrar of the Joint Stock Companies and Firms to see whether they have any dues.
The “Deed of Exit” dated April 29 shows Warid Telecom International is selling its 137.9 million shares to Bharti Airtel Holdings (Singapore) at an under price, Dhaka Tribune reported.
On May 2, Bharti Airtel announced it would purchase the remaining 30 percent stake from Warid Telecom International. The Dhabi Group venture will sell off all of its 137,948,402 shares.
Airtel, in January 2010, took over 70 percent of Warid Telecom’s shares at $100,000, which stimulated criticisms in the country’s telecommunication and political arenas.
According to BTRC, the number of mobile phone users in Bangladesh has reached at 97.18 million at the end of December, 2012.
Recently, Airtel acquired Warid Telecom Uganda. The acquisition was part of Airtel’s plans to consolidate its position as the second largest mobile operator in Uganda with a combined customer base of over 7.4 million.
