Etisalat acquires Atlantique

* username: rupertbu

Etisalat on Monday sadi it paid $75 million (Dh276 million) to complete the acquisition of Atlantique Telecom, a company with majority ownership of operators in seven West African countries.

Etisalat has been steadily increasing its share in Atlantique since acquiring a 50 per cent stake in the company in 2005 along with management rights for 10 years. The latest purchase gave the UAE operator the remaining 18 per cent of shares in Atlantique, which operates in countries including Ivory Coast, Gabon and Niger. The company has not disclosed the values of previous acquisitions.

The announcement comes on the same day the company reported filing an application with Indian authorities to raise its stake in its Indian subsidiary Etisalat DB from 45 per cent to 50 per cent.