Orange has entered into exclusive talks with Bharti Airtel that could see it acquire four of the Indian operator’s businesses in Africa, it announced late on Monday.
"Orange and Airtel have entered into an exclusive agreement to explore the possible acquisition by Orange of Airtel’s subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone," the telco said in a brief statement.
It made no comment on the possible value of any deal and said that there is no certainty that the negotiations will result in a binding agreement.
Orange had 110 million customers at its operations in 20 countries across the Middle East and Africa at the end of last year.
Earlier this month it announced the creation of a new holding company to encompass those operations. The new company "will be the basis for our future development in Africa and the Middle East," Orange’s deputy CEO Ramon Fernandez said at a press event in London.
"We are in a position to consider adding, on a selective basis, some assets, if we find the right price," and an acquisition makes sense, Fernandez said, indicating that Orange would primarily target francophone countries.
French is one of the official languages in three of the four markets under negotiation.
Bharti Airtel, which last month shared figures that show it has become the world’s third largest mobile operator by subscribers, offers mobile services in 18 African markets. It had 76 million customers in the region as of the end of March.
