Leading Indian telecom players Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications have joined the race to acquire the African business of the Kuwait-based Zain Group, says a media report. Zain is in mobile telephony.
A prominent newspaper, BusinessDay, said so in a report published online, quoting informed sources. It said Bharti and RCom have joined Vivendi of France in the race; the latter has been locked in discussions with the Kuwait group for a “business valued at $12 billion”.
Bharti is in talks with South African telecom major MTN for a partnership that could lead to merger of the two entities. Last year, both Bharti and RCom made bids for MTN, but the talks failed. According to BusinessDay, big foreign players have in recent times been struggling for a foothold in the emerging markets of Africa, particularly Nigeria.
