Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecoms operator, has completed its $9 billion acquisition of the African operations of the Zain Group of Kuwait. To ensure the completion of the deal, Zain received $7.87 billion from Bharti and will receive $400 million more within 12 months after completing other formal requirements and another $700 million after one year of closing the deal. A statement made available to Thisday disclosed that Bharti has also settled a long standing dispute with Zain Nigeria’s main local partner, Broad Communications Group and has appointed the owner, Mr. Oba Otudeko, as the Chairman of Bharti in Nigeria. Before Bharti settled the dispute, Zain Nigeria had been embroiled in a court case with Otudeko’s Broad Communications. Otudeko accused the directors of Zain of mismanagement and non-payment of dividends to shareholders since 2001. The settlement of the rift will give Bharti smooth sailing and pave the way for its aggressive development in Nigeria. Bharti in the statement described Otudeko as a highly regarded business leader in Nigeria, who will bring in all his resources to make it a leader in mobile telephony in Nigeria. Chairman of Bharti, Sunil Bharti Mittal, said, “In line with Bharti’s philosophy of forging long term strategic partnerships we are pleased to have joined hands with our local partner in Nigeria, Mr. Oba Otudeko, and his family. “I have no doubt that this partnership will ensure leadership for Bharti in Nigeria for the benefit of all stakeholders.” In his reaction, Mr Otudeko stated that “We welcome Bharti Airtel as our new partner. I am aware of the leadership that Airtel has established in the telecom space and I am keenly looking for them to bring their expertise in the mobile telephony for the benefit of Nigeria and its people.” The completion of the acquisition gives Bharti control of 15 of Zain’s African operations and makes the Indian telecoms company the world's fifth biggest cellphone company by subscribers. Bharti also intends to have 100 million subscribers and $5 billion a year in revenue in the newly acquired African assets by 2012. The acquisition will shore up Bharti's subscriber base to 180 million in 18 countries. Bharti before the completion of the deal, had in March signed a definitive agreement for the sale of 100 per cent of Zain's African assets for an Enterprise Value of US$10.7 billion. It had for long desired a foothold in Africa and had tried and failed to access the continent through the MTN group twice. Bharti’s acquisition of Zain African assets is expected to lead to another name change for the Nigerian operations which has already changed name about five times. In the past, Zain Nigeria has traded under various brands since 2001 due to a series of boardroom conflicts that had seen it metamorphorsize into Vee Networks, Vmobile, Celtel, Zain Nigeria and now possibly Bharti Airtel. Mittal, in his comments, described the deal as a landmark for global telecom industry and a game changer for Bharti Airtel. He emphasized that the transaction is a pioneering step towards South-South cooperation and strengthening of ties between India and Africa. The transaction he stressed will enable Bharti Airtel to be transformed into a truly global telecom company with operations across 18 countries thus fulfilling its vision of building a world-class multinational.” The Bharti CEO also expressed optimism about venturing into the African market which he described as the continent of hope and opportunity. He emphasized that the strength of the Bharti brand, its unique business model and the historical Iconnection of India with Africa will help unlock the potential of these emerging markets. He stated that Bharti is committed to partnering with the governments in these countries in taking affordable telecom services to the remotest geographies and bridging the digital divide. Bharti launched mobile services in India in 1995, Sri Lanka in 2009 and acquired Warid in Bangladesh in January 2010. Source: Thisdayonline.com