Econet Wireless Global has made the acquisitions of Telecel Global Limited – which owns U-COM in Burundi – and Telecel CAR in the Central African Republic.
VimpelCom is continuing a strategic review of its assets worldwide, and last year had agreed to sell the two businesses to Neil Telecom, run by African investor Laurent Fouchers, but the deal unravelled.
VimpelCom, which is majority owned by Telenor and Russian investor Alfa Group, has approximately $20 billion worth of debt, and has divested interests in Canada, Cambodia and Vietnam in recent months.
“We have previously outlined that our value agenda within our operations are reviewed to assess their future value to the group,” said Andrew Davies, CFO at VimpelCom. “The decision to sell our operations in the CAR and Burundi is a result of this process.”
