Bharti Airtel's subsidiary to merge with Telkom Kenya

Airtel Kenya Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, has agreed to merge with Telkom Kenya Ltd, the East African nation's telecom operator. This merger will help the Sunil Mittal-led telco emerge stronger in the east African market.

Both the companies will be combining their mobile, enterprise and carrier services businesses in Kenya to operate as Airtel-Telkom. The new entity will invest in networks to further accelerate the roll-out of future technologies.

Telkom Kenya is 60% owned by Helios Investment Partners, the UK private equity firm, and the remaining by the Kenyan government.

Airtel's statement said, "Bharti Airtel Limited announced the signing of an agreement by its subsidiary, Airtel Networks Kenya Limited (Airtel Kenya), with Telkom Kenya limited (Telkom Kenya) for merging their respective mobile, enterprise and carrier services businesses in Kenya to operate as Airtel-Telkom."

"The enterprise and carrier services businesses should benefit from a larger fibre footprint and an increased number of enterprise customers, including both large corporations and SMEs who would have access to a diverse portfolio of world-class solutions," it added.