Regulator approves Safaricom's Sh7bn yuMobile buyout
Essar Capital Ltd, owners of yuMobile, have signed binding agreements with Bharti Airtel Ltd and Safaricom Ltd to sell its telecoms business in Kenya for about $120 million. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The Communication Authority of Kenya has approved Safaricom’s joint bid for rival yuMobile.
“We have gotten the final approval of the buyout of yuMobile today (Tuesday) and we believe this will put us in a better position to provide better services,” Chief Executive Bob Collymore announced while releasing the company’s half-year profits.
Essar Capital Ltd, owners of yuMobile, have signed binding agreements with Bharti Airtel Ltd and Safaricom Ltd to sell its telecoms business in Kenya for about $120 million.
Safaricom intends to acquire yuMobile’s assets, which include its frequency spectrum, the building that houses Essar and IT equipment, while Airtel will acquire 2.5 million yuMobile subscribers.
Safaricom chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a last month told shareholders that the company would finance the buyout from its cash reserves and that it would not have any effect on the Sh18.8 billion set aside for paying shareholders a dividend of 47 cents per share in October.
