Etisalat purchases 100% of Tigo Sri Lanka for $207m

Abu Dhabi: Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (etisalat) said yesterday it had acquired 100 per cent of Tigo Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan unit of Nasdaq-listed Millicom International Cellular SA, for $207 million (Dh759.69 million).

"Entering the Sri Lankan telecom market is a logical addition to our interests in the Asian continent," said etisalat's Chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran.

"The acquisition promises attractive returns as the Sri Lankan government is increasing its effort to promote foreign investment in all sectors.

"The acquisition is of a mature operator with a strong reputation for its good network and quality of service. It also offers great opportunities for synergy with our other operations in the region, particularly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India," he added.

Tigo Sri Lanka which began its operations in 1989, is now, with a market share of 21 per cent, the second-largest mobile phone operator in Sri Lanka. As of last month, the company had 2.25 million subscribers.

Shares of etisalat on Thursday ended 1.2 per cent higher at Dh12.55 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Etisalat submitted a binding offer to Millicom on September 4 to buy 100 per cent of Millicom-Sri Lanka.

Millicom provides telephone services to more than 30 million customers in 16 emerging markets.

Etisalat's latest move is expected to help the UAE telecom giant to grow as its domestic market becomes saturated.