Airtel Africa PLC to acquire additional spectrum in $70m deal

Airtel Africa Plc is set to acquire an additional 10 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHZ band in Nigeria in a $70 million.

In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Airtel Africa announced that an agreement was reached between Airtel Nigeria and Intercellular Nigeria Limited for a consideration fee of $70 million.

This acquisition, subject to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is expected to strengthen and reposition Airtel’s LTE network across the country.

ALSO READ: Paris club refund: Kastina govt denies entering agreement with financial consulting firm

Commenting on the deal, Raghunath Mandava, CEO of Airtel Africa, explained that data and the decision to expand its services across Nigeria were the reasons for the growth of the company.

“Data is a key pillar of our growth strategy, driven by increasing 4G networks and supported by the increased affordability and increasing penetration of smartphones. With an overall smartphone penetration of more than 35% and data consumption growing by 92% in the six months’ period ended 30 September 2019, Nigeria presents a significant growth opportunity in data.

“The acquisition of this spectrum will enable us to further deliver on this growth opportunity and continue to offer our Nigerian customers enhanced user experience,” Mandava said.