Publications
Partners
Nairobi - MTN, Africa's biggest mobile company by subscribers, is looking to buy Kenya's fourth mobile phone provider Econet Wireless Kenya for $450m, Kenya's Standard newspaper said on Tuesday.
Quoting a South African-based source familiar with the talks, the Standard said MTN wanted Econet Wireless International's (EWI) 70% stake in the Kenyan company, along with already laid out infrastructure and further roll-out services.
No one at MTN or Econet Wireless in Johannesburg could immediately be reached for comment.
MTN, which operates mobile networks across Africa and the Middle East, had 90.7 million subscribers at the end of 2008. It has made several previous attempts to secure a foothold in east Africa's biggest economy.
Kenya's Econet launched mobile services late last year, joining a market dominated by Safaricom, which is 40% owned by a consortium led by Vodafone and has a 77% share of the 15 million-subscriber market.
Econet said it had added 200 000 subscribers by February, but faces stiff competition from Safaricom, Kuwait-owned Zain and France's Orange.
The Standard said MTN sent a letter of intent to Johannesburg-based EWI a few months ago and representatives have subsequently courted top Kenyan government officials in the telecommunications sector.
- Reuters
