Dhabi Group recently sold its 70% shareholding in Warid Bangladesh to Indian Telecom giant Bharti Airtel in line with its strategy to bring reputable and strong operators to run its telecom ventures in the region. Dhabi Group also sold its shareholding to Essar in African countries of Uganda, Ivory Coast and Congo. It is worth noting here that Singtel is 30% shareholder in Warid Pakistan.
As part of its management control, Bharti Airtel has appointed Chris Tobit, director of sales and operations, enterprise
business of Bharti Airtel, to head the newly acquired Bangladesh unit. Mr Tobit, who has been with Bharti Airtel for over a decade now, and has held several senior positions, such has heading the telco’s operations in Maharashtra & Delhi, will be the new managing director and CEO of Warid Bangladesh.
When contacted, the Bharti spokesperson confirmed that Mr Tobit would be heading its Bangladesh unit.
Bharti, thwarted twice in its effort to acquire South African telecom giant, MTN, announced on Tuesday that it had made its first foreign acquisition by acquiring Warid Telecom Bangladesh, a move that signals a new strategy, whereby it would scale up globally through a string of small and medium-size acquisitions in developing economies.
After its failure to merge with South Africa’s MTN to create the world’s fourth-largest telco, Bharti has been rumoured to be in talks with several operators, such as Kuwait’s Zain and Egypt’s Orascom. Both these players have significant presence in markets across Africa and Asia.
Currently, Bharti’s international operations outside South Asia are minuscule, covering Seychelles and Jersey Islands in Europe. Bharti has also said the newly-created international business group would comprise a team of seasoned and experienced professionals, including some from within the Bharti Group.
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