Bharti Airtel, Millicom International sign agreement to combine operations

Bharti Airtel, Millicom International sign agreement to combine operations in Ghana Bharti Airtel and Millicom International Cellular SA on  3 March 2017 signed an agreement to combine operations in Ghana. The agreement was signed between Tigo Ghana Limited, subsidiary of Millicom and Airtel Ghana Limited, subsidiary of Airtel. The transaction is subject to obtaining approvals from the relevant authorities in Ghana and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Once completed, it will provide the opportunity to develop nationwide digital infrastructure and services in Ghana. Highlights of the Togo-Airtel tie-up • As per the agreement, Airtel and Millicom will have equal ownership and governance rights in the combined entity. • The combined business will serve nearly 10 million customers, of which 5.6 million are data customers. • It will cover more than 80 per cent of Ghana's population with high-speed data and provide the widest 3G coverage across the country. • The combined business is also expected to provide Ghanaian customers with a major boost in both rural and urban network coverage, in turn, translating into better voice quality, high-speed data services and reinforced network stability and resilience. • With the combined fibre footprint and increased number of data centres, enterprise customers such as large corporations and SMEs will have access to a diverse portfolio of world-class solutions. • Mobile Financial Services will also be greatly enhanced with combined agent networks and platforms. • The combination of Tigo and Airtel will create an operator that will be able to offer Ghanaian consumers and businesses a state of the art network with high-speed mobile data coverage. • This tie-up is expected to fetch in revenues close to USD 300 million, making them one of the largest communications service provider in Ghana. Airtel Ghana contributes around 6-7 per cent to Bharti Airtel’s Africa revenue which totaled close to USD 900 million for the July-September quarter in 2016.