KOLKATA: Bharti Airtel<\/a> may soon be involved in a potential consolidation<\/a> opportunity in Nigeria<\/a>, its largest Africa market, amid reports that efforts are underway to find a buyer for the country’s troubled fourth-largest carrier, Etisalat Nigeria<\/a>, said analysts.
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“Nigeria<\/a> is Bharti’s largest Africa market where a potential consolidation<\/a> opportunity is arising with Etisalat Nigeria<\/a> looking for buyers<\/a> after having failed to service debt obligations,” said Bank of America Merrill Lynch<\/a> in a note to clients, a copy of which was seen by ET.
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Nigeria generates 30% of Bharti Airtel<\/a>’s Africa revenues.
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\nThe US brokerage, further, said that “it remains to be seen if Bharti explores a Ghana market equivalent joint venture opportunity” in Nigeria, although it does not specifically name potential JV partners.
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\nEarlier this year, Bharti Airtel<\/a> and Millicom International Cellular inked a pact to merge their respective subsidiaries in Ghana to create the second-largest mobile carrier in the African country.
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\nThe latest consolidation buzz in Nigeria comes less than a fortnight after the country’s central bank and its telecom regulator reportedly intervened to save Etisalat Nigeria from collapsing after the telco’s talks with local banks to renegotiate a $1.2 billion loan came a cropper.
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\nEtisalat Nigeria has reportedly been a victim of dollar shortages plaguing the country due to lower oil prices and economic recession, that has left the company struggling to make repayments to lenders and suppliers.
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\nIn January, Bharti Airtel<\/a> chairman Sunil Mittal had said the telco would consider mergers or stake sales of some its African assets within a year as part of a rationalisation exercise, especially where it’s not in the top two positions, in an attempt to cut its mammoth $14 billion-plus debt and turn operations profitable.
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\nIn this context, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said “Bharti has largely achieved its aim of being No 1 or No 2 in market share in most African markets, with the exception of Nigeria and Tanzania”.
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\nBharti Airtel had previously told ET that in a few (African) countries, where the business model is not sustainable due to hyper-competition, it would look at engaging actively with other players in those markets to create a viable business case through in-country consolidations.
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\nIn Tanzania, the government has mandated telecom firms to list at least 25% of the company on the local exchanges to encourage domestic ownership. Which is why, Airtel Tanzania is planning an initial public offer (IPO) in compliance with regulatory requirements in the country, and has filed its draft prospectus with concerned authorities and awaiting approvals.
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\nSince its Africa entry in 2010, Bharti Airtel turned profitable in the continent for the first time ever in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 2017, reporting a net income of $6 million compared with a net loss of $57 million, helped by growth in the data customer base and consumption, with revenue growing 2.6% amid stable currencies in most markets.
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Bharti Airtel可能会为整合Etisalat尼日利亚寻找买家

尼日利亚是非洲Bharti最大的市场,一个潜在的整合机会产生与阿联酋电信尼日利亚寻找买家后无力偿债义务。

Kalyan尔巴特,
等局

更新于2017年7月18日09:43点坚持

加尔各答:Bharti Airtel可能很快就会被卷入一场潜力整合的机会尼日利亚,其最大的非洲市场,因有报道称,正在努力寻找买家的问题第四大航空公司阿联酋电信尼日利亚分析师说。

”尼日利亚是Bharti最大的非洲市场潜力整合机会出现了阿联酋电信尼日利亚寻找买家后未能偿债义务,”说美国银行美林(Merrill Lynch)在给客户的报告中,其中的一个副本被等。

尼日利亚生成Bharti的30%附近的旅馆非洲的收入。

美国经纪业务,进一步说,“还有待观察,如果Bharti探索加纳市场等价的合资机会”在尼日利亚,尽管它没有具体名称潜在合资伙伴。

今年早些时候,Bharti附近的旅馆和Millicom International Cellular签订了协议各自的子公司合并在加纳建立在非洲国家第二大移动运营商。

最新整合buzz在尼日利亚不到两周后据说国家的中央银行和电信监管机构介入拯救Etisalat尼日利亚崩溃后,电信与当地银行重新谈判的谈判一笔12亿美元的贷款来猛摔一跤。

阿联酋电信尼日利亚据报道美元短缺困扰的国家的受害者由于油价下跌和经济衰退,这使得公司难以偿还银行和供应商。

今年1月,Bharti Airtel主席苏尼尔•米塔尔表示,电信会考虑合并或出售股份的一年内非洲资产作为合理化运动的一部分,特别是在这不是前两个位置,为了减少其庞大的14多亿美元的债务,并将业务盈利。

在这种背景下,美国银行-美林说“Bharti在很大程度上实现了目标,在市场份额没有1或2在大多数非洲市场,除了尼日利亚和坦桑尼亚”。

Bharti Airtel先前告诉等几个国家(非洲),由于超竞争的商业模式是不可持续的,它看起来与其他玩家积极参与在这些市场通过国内合并创建一个可行的商业案例。

在坦桑尼亚,政府强制电信公司至少25%的上市公司在本地交流,鼓励国内的所有权。这就是为什么Airtel坦桑尼亚正在计划一个首次公开发行(IPO)符合监管要求,并提出其起草招股说明书与有关当局和等待批准。

自2010年进入非洲,Bharti Airtel盈利在大陆有史以来第一次在截至2017年3月的第四财政季度报告净收益600万美元相比,净亏损5700万美元,得益于经济增长数据的客户基础和消费,收入增长2.6%,在大多数市场稳定的货币。