MTN eyes acquisitions in South Asia: report
MTN is eying new acquisitions beyond its current territories in Africa and the Middle East, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Citing “people familiar with the situation,” MTN is reportedly interested in establishing a presence in South Asia, while potential deals are also being eyed in its current markets in the Middle East and Africa, “where it could build on its expertise selling low-cost mobile services,” Bloomberg said.
Last year, MTN missed out on one of two lucrative telecommunications licences in Southeast Asia’s Myanmar.
The group was also believed to be interested in a potential acquisition in India with Reliance Communications, the company it tried unsuccessfully to merge with in 2008.
In 2009, MTN was in the process of a merger deal with India’s Bharti-Airtel at a value of $23 billion, but the merger was canned as Bharti pulled out due to the South African government’s rejection of the proposed merger structure.
According to Bloomberg, a target for MTN could include Millicom International Cellular SA, the Stockholm mobile operator with territories in Africa including Chad, Mauritius, Congo DRC, Ghana, Rwanda, and Senegal.
Other potential targets include India’s Maxis Berhad’s Aircel division, while Reliance Communications is still on its list, the people speaking to Bloomberg said.
Representatives of MTN, Millicom and Reliance declined to comment, the news agency said.
Bloomberg noted that, in Africa, Ethiopia remains on MTN’s wanted list, considering its low mobile penetration rate (app 22%) and population exceeding 91 million people.
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