MTN and Bharti now rivals in a bid for Zain.

What was to be a merger is now likely to turn into a battle to acquire Zain.  Reliable sources have revealed that a dialogue between Airtel and Zain has now been initiated via intermediaries. With this Bharti will now take on MTN in a bid to acquire Zain.

Last month, MTN CEO Phutuma Nhleko had stated that it would consider buying the African assets of Zain Telecom if the deal with Bharti did not go through.

Bharti Airtel is trying its hardest best to get a foothold in Africa, which is where the growth story is playing out as well.

Zain is considered a valuable asset because it has over 69 million customers and operations in 24 countries across West Asia and Africa, and a market capitalisation in excess of $19 billion. In Africa alone, it has 41 million customers and is the number one mobile operator in 12 of the 16 countries it operates in. As a comparison, MTN has over 103 million customers and operates in 21 countries.