Bharti Airtel today said Uganda’s telecommunications regulator has approved its acquisition of Warid Telecom, which will enable the company to strengthen its footprint in African region.
“Airtel’s proposed acquisition of Warid Telecom has received approvals from the Uganda Communications Commission.
With this, Airtel will further consolidate its position as the second largest mobile operator in Uganda with a combined customer base of over 7.2 million and market share of over 39 per cent,” the company said in a statement.
Stating that it will continue to make investments in the country, Airtel said Warid customers will be able to retain their existing mobile numbers and continue to enjoy benefits such as remaining balances in their SIM and existing services.
Apart from that Warid customers will get access to roaming benefits on successful completion of integration.
“This acquisition will create a superior and wider network and we will invest more in key areas such as technological innovation and customer service,” VG Somasekhar, Managing Director, Airtel Uganda said.
Airtel said it has presence across 17 African countries and had over 62 million customers at the end of quarter ended December 31, 2012.