Orange has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the mobile operator Airtel in Burkina Faso via its Côte dIvoire subsidiary
Following the signature agreement with Bharti Airtel in January 2016, Orange has obtained all the official approbations necessary to complete this transaction.
Airtel is Burkina Faso’s leading Internet provider with an extensive 3.75G network that has been rolled out in more than 100 towns. It is the second largest mobile operator in Burkina Faso, with close to 4.6mn customers (on the basis of active customers within a 30-day period).
On the mobile financial services market, Airtel is already interoperable with Orange Money in neighbouring countries allowing international transfers to be made.
With 18mn inhabitants and a relatively high mobile penetration rate for the region (80 per cent of the population), Burkina Faso is the 20th country in Africa and the Middle East to join the Orange group.
According to the company, this acquisition in one of the countries with the strongest growth rates in the Economic Community of West African States (5.8 per cent annual growth of GDP) strengthens Orange's presence in Africa.
Commenting on the development, Orange group deputy CEO of and Orange Middle East and Africa Bruno Mettling said, “We are pleased to announce that the acquisition of the mobile operator Airtel in Burkina Faso has been finalised. This new acquisition will further strengthen the Group’s positions on the African continent.”
In July 2015, Airtel had announced the agreement with Orange to sell its four subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone. The statement also said that the acquisitions will be implemented in partnership with Orange's subsidiaries in the Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal.
