Bharti Airtel eyes Bangladesh's Warid Telecom

Bharti Airtel is reportedly planning to buy a 70% stake in Bangladesh operator Warid Telecom. The size of the acquisition is estimated around US$900mn, according to reports. India’s leading cellular operator has applied to the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) for permission to buy a 70% stake from the Abu Dhabi group, the owner of Warid, the regulatory body’s chairman Zia Ahmed was quoted as saying. A Warid Telecom executive said that Bangladesh' fourth largest telecom operator and Bharti Airtel were in exclusive discussions on similar lines as the deal between Essar group and the Abu Dhabi group. The Essar group announced last month that it is investing in Warid Telecom’s operations in Uganda and the Republic of Congo, valuing them at a total of US$318mn. Akhil Gupta, deputy CEO of Bharti Enterprises Ltd. had earlier said that the company has always been interested in acquisition opportunities in Bangladesh and other markets in South Asia. The development comes just two months after Bharti Airtel failed in its second attempt to merge with South Africa’s MTN. Warid has under 3 million customers, or about 5.5% of the country’s 52 million cellular subscribers. Reports citing Dhabi group CFO Ali Tahir said that Warid expects to seal a deal by mid-January 2010.