Bharti seals $10.7 bn Zain deal.

Bharti Airtel has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Zain Africa. The enterprise value of Zain Africa BV is USD 10.7 billion, Bharti said in a press release. The Indian telecom major will become the world's 5th largest wireless company post the Zain buy.

Bharti will now have operations in 18 countries worldwide. Post the Zain buy, its total customer base would be around 179 million and it would cover over 1.8 billion people.
Zain operates in 15 other African countries, of which it is a leader in 10 countries. Its African assets exclude Sudan and Morroco. It has a subscriber base of 41.89 million as on September 30, 2009, which grew at 13% year-on-year.

Post the deal, Bharti will become the world's fifth largest wireless company with operations across 18 countries. Its total customer base will reach around 179 million, including Zain Africa's mobile operations in 15 countries with over 42 million customers.

Top 5 Telecom Companies in world:

1. China Mobile - 522 million.
2. Vodafone - 333 million.
3. Telefonica - 202 million.
4. America Movil - 201 million.
5. Bharti Airtel - 179 million (approx).


We are proud to have Bharti Airtel in our model portfolio and are also proud to be shareholder of this company.

Source: moneycontrol.com, DNA.

Thanks,
Nimesh.