Bharti Airtel said it is merging its operations in the African nation of Ghana with the local unit of Millicom International Cellular.
“Under the joint agreement, Airtel and Millicom will have equal ownership (50:50) and governance rights in the combined entity, which will have revenues of approximately USD 300 million,” the companies said.
Both Airtel and Millicom will have Board representations and Management positions in the merged entity.
Roshi Motman, the current CEO of Tigo Ghana, will be the new CEO of the joint entity.
The company will become Ghana’s second largest mobile operator with close to 10 million subscribers.
“The combined networks of the two companies will cover more than 80% of Ghana’s population, in particular in villages and far flung areas, and serve customers with affordable world- class voice and data services, affordable global roaming and mobile banking services,” it added.
The merged entity will be deconsolidated from Bharti’s books and treated as a strategic asset in the form of a Joint Venture and the company will continue to operate both brands – Airtel and Tigo.
The Ghana National Co mmunications Authority (NCA) granted approval for the me rger proposal early this month, it said.
“The significant synergies from this merger will help the combined entity achieve profitability and cash-flow levels faster,” Bharti Airtel said.
In addition, the merged entity with its robust optic fibre footprint and increased number of data centres will bring significant benefits to diverse portfolio of enterprise customers – including both large corporations and SMEs, it added.
The process of business consolidation will take place over the next few weeks.