Orange accelerates Africa push with Airtel acquisitions

Just a day after announcing the acquisition of Cellcom Liberia Orange has continued its strategic push into the African market by snapping up Bharti Airtel’s operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.

“These acquisitions provide a clear illustration of Orange’s international development strategy, which places a priority on accelerating growth in high-potential, emerging markets where the Group is not already present,” said the Orange announcement.

“Through this deal, Orange will reinforce its presence in Africa with two additional countries, adding almost 5.5 million customers to its mobile customer base. This acquisition marks an important step forward in Orange’s dynamic growth strategy and will bring the Group’s African footprint up to 20 countries in 2016.”

The two companies collectively generate around €275 million in revenue and are likely to have relatively low mobile phone penetration, meaning plenty of growth potential. The acquisitions will be implemented in partnership with Orange’s subsidiaries in the Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, giving Orange a strong position in West Africa especially.