Airtel to acquire Millicom's Rwanda ops; shares dip nearly 1% on BSE Sensex

Key Highlights:

• Airtel's shares opened on a flat note.
• The company's shares were trading 0.64% down at 0918 hours on BSE Sensex.
• The operator has signed an agreement to acquire Millicom's Rwanda ops.

All eyes on Bharti Airtel shares today as the telecom giant opened flat on BSE Sensex. On NSE’s Nifty 50 the operator’s shares were down 0.37% or 1.95 points to trade at Rs 524.30 apiece. 

Airtel's shares were 0.68% or 3.60 points down to Rs 522.55 per share on BSE Sensex in early trade session.

In the pre-market open activity, Airtel’s shares were trading flat at 0.03% down to Rs 526 per share.

Airtel on Tuesday announced that it had signed a deal to acquire Millicom’s operations in Rwanda. Airtel Rwanda Limited will acquire 100% equity interest in Tigo Rwanda Limited, the company said in a BSE filing.

“Airtel has taken proactive steps in Africa to consolidate and realign the market structure in the last few remaining countries where its operations are lagging on account of lower market share and presence of too many operators. Airtel and Tiago have already merged their operations to create a strong viable entity in Ghana. Today, it has taken yet another important step to acquire Tigo Rwanda to become a profitable and strong challenger in a two-player market,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel.

"The acquisition reinforces our commitment to the Rwanda market and is a significant step towards creating a stronger presence in the country. It will create synergies with out existing business and help boost operational efficiences in the market. The Rwandan telecom market will significantly benefit from this acquisition, further reiterating our stand that in-market consolidations do not just help achieve better market positions but benefit customers and the industry as a whole," said Raghunath Mandava, MD and CEO, Airtel Africa.

The operator’s shares had dropped nearly 3% on Monday on BSE Sensex as its e-KYC license was temporarily suspended by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

On Monday, Societe Generale bought 30 lakh Airtel shares while Morgan Stanley France sold 30 million, as per Bloomberg data.

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