Essar says in binding pact to sell Kenya telecoms business

Corporate News

Mobile phone firms Safaricom and Airtel are set to pay billions to acquire yuMobile. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

By Reuters

In Summary

• The deals received conditional approval from Kenya's telecoms regulator in March.

Essar Capital Ltd, part of India's Essar conglomerate, said it had signed binding agreements with Bharti Airtel Ltd and Safaricom Ltd to sell its telecoms business in Kenya for about $120 million.

Under the agreements, Safaricom will take over Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd's network, IT and office infrastructure, while Bharti Airtel will acquire its subscribers. The deals received conditional approval from Kenya's telecoms regulator in March.

READ: Safaricom raises bid for yuMobile assets to Sh10.5bn

Essar Telecom Kenya operates under the Yu brand name. Essar Global Fund Ltd, whose investment manager is Essar Capital, and its partners had invested in the Kenyan telecoms company in 2007-08, according to a statement from Essar.