Millicom completes its exit from Africa

Luxembourg-based operator group Millicom has flogged its Tanzania operations to complete its strategy of focusing solely on Latin America.

Millicom, which operates under the Togo brand, has been in Tanzania since 1994 an took full ownership of those operations in 2006. It has been trying to IPO for a while but apparently decided it was better off cashing in entirely. It’s also flogging its only other remaining interest in Africa – the AirtelTigo joint-venture in Ghana.

“Today Tigo is a leading provider of broadband services to consumers, businesses and governments in Latin America, where penetration and data speeds remain low by the standards of more mature markets,” said Millicom CEO, Mauricio Ramos.

“Through our investment-led strategy, we are bringing reliable high-speed mobile and fixed broadband to the communities we serve in the region. With today’s announcement that we are divesting our remaining African businesses, we close a chapter in our history and open another solely focused on the Latin American region.”

Millicom has operations across the whole of Central America, as well as Colombia, Bolivia and Paraguay. Its Tanzania operations will be acquired by a consortium led by Axian, which also bought up its Senegal operations in 2018. It looks like the Ghana JV was a car crash and both owners have just handed it over to the government. Millicom is writing off $25 million as a result.