India’s Essar Group may invest into Abu Dhabi Group’s telecommunication business in Africa to expand operations in the region, the Indian energy-to-steel conglomerate said in a statement on Sunday. Abu Dhabi Group, a group of investors based in the UAE, and Essar Group agreed to enter exclusive talks for Essar Group to put equity into the African businesses of the middle eastern group for growth capital, Essar said. The investment “will be the basis of a partnership to create a significant presence in Africa,” Essar said.

Abu Dhabi Group’s telecommunication assets in Africa include Warid Telecom Uganda and Warid Congo SA. Essar Group already offers mobile services in Kenya under the ‘yu’ brand through its unit, Essar Telecom Kenya. Essar Group is Vodafone’s partner in India’s No.3 mobile firm, Vodafone Essar. It holds a 33% stake in Vodafone Essar and holds a stake of less than 10% in Loop Telecom’s parent, Loop Mobile. Standard Chartered Bank is acting as exclusive financial advisor to the Abu Dhabi Group, the Essar statement said.

ChairmanKing.com recently reported that Essar Telecom Kenya recently received a pledge of a $93.75 million investment from Africa’s largest private equity fund, Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF).

Visit Essar Group’s website
Visit Abu Dhabi Group’s website
Visit Warid Telecom’s website

Source(s):
CNBC