MTN is eying new acquisitions beyond its current territories in Africa and the Middle East, according to a report from Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
Citing \u201cpeople familiar with the situation,\u201d 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, \u201cwhere it could build on its expertise selling low-cost mobile services,\u201d Bloomberg said.<\/p>\n
Last year, MTN missed out on one of two lucrative telecommunications licences in Southeast Asia\u2019s Myanmar.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In 2009, MTN was in the process of a merger deal with India\u2019s Bharti-Airtel<\/a> at a value of $23 billion, but the merger was canned as Bharti pulled out due to the South African government\u2019s rejection of the proposed merger structure.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Other potential targets include India’s Maxis Berhad<\/span>\u2019s Aircel division, while\u00a0Reliance Communications is still on its list, the people speaking to Bloomberg said.<\/p>\n Representatives of MTN, Millicom and Reliance declined to comment, the news agency said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n MTN primed for Ethiopia growth<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Vodacom, MTN in race for Madagascar?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n India opens up to MTN, global operators<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on MTN<\/h3>\n