[November 16, 2009] Essar Telecom acquires stake in Warid Telecom Tweet (Mail Today (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WHILE Bharti Airtel and Reliance Telecom failed to close the attempted merger with South African telco MTN, Essar Telecom is widening its footprint on the other side of the continent in East Africa. The Essar Group on Sunday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Warid Telecom, which owns the telecom assets of the Dhabi Group in Uganda and the Republic of Congo. The enterprise valuation of the Uganda and Congo operations is valued at $ 318 million. The Dhabi group is owned by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. Prashant Ruia, group chief executive, Essar Group, said, " This transaction with the Dhabi Group augments our successful launch of telecom services in Kenya under the brand ' yu' which was a stepping stone for Essar to expand its telecom footprint to the African continent." The Dhabi Group transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in Uganda and Congo. (c) 2009 India Today Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]