The boss of Indian telecommunications group Bharti Airtel has appointed his top lieutenant to oversee his new African business, bought in a $10,7bn deal from Kuwait’s Zain, a company official said on Wednesday.
Sunil Bharti Mittal appointed Manoj Kohli, who is head of Bharti’s international operations and who helped build Bharti into India’s leading mobile operator by subscribers, to head the African operations.
“Mr Kohli has been appointed but it is not clear yet where he will be located,” said a senior company official, who asked to remain unnamed.
Bharti’s shares jumped as much as 3% in opening trade before retreating on profit taking to trade up 1,33%.
Bharti announced late Tuesday it had sealed an agreement to buy most of Zain’s African assets, vaulting it into the ranks of the world’s top five cellular players by subscribers with 179m clients.
The takeover, dubbed Bharti’s “African safari” by Indian media, will see Bharti pay Zain $9bn in cash. Bharti will also assume Zain’s $1,7bn in debt, putting the deal value at $10,7bn. — Sapa-AFP
- Image credit: World Economic Forum
- Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
- Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook