Bharti board approves $9 billion Zain deal (India)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After the approval of the Bharti’s bid for $9 billion purchase of Zain’s African wireless assets by its Board, the company is planning to make a formal offer this week. Both Bharti and Zain are under exclusive talks till March 25, for the completion of the deal that will give Bharti an access to 42 million new subscribers in 15 African countries.

Bharti has sought overseas businesses as competition at home has reduced call rates for many of its 122 million Indian subscribers to as little as half a U.S. cent a minute.

Zain at the same time has been asked to provide legal protection from a dispute in Nigeria.  Econet Wireless Holdings Ltd., based in a suburb of Johannesburg, is disputing control of Zain’s unit in Nigeria. The Nigerian operations have been described by Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal as the most important piece of its planned purchase.

A 2006 deal is seeked to be overturned by Econet in which Celtel bought a 65 percent stake in Nigerian mobile operator Vmobile, since renamed Zain Nigeria.

Airtel posted its biggest gain since November 30 adding 3.9 percent on March 19 to close at 311.90 rupees in Mumbai trading.