Zain Nigeria won’t sell to Bharti India

Econet says Zain Nigeria can not sell to Bharti of India.

The CEO of Econet, Strive Masiyiwa, 5% owner of Zain Nigeria says the company has the first option to buy as the telecom provider is being bought by India’s Bharti for $10.7 billion, the Bloomberg news reports.

According to the report, Econet is disputing Zain’s ownership of the Lagos-based company. Bahrain-based Zain holds 65% shares in Zain Nigeria.

The matter of the stalled sale of Zain Nigeria as a result of Econet’s position is before an international arbitration tribunal.

Zain Nigeria is the largest market in the 15 African countries in which Zain operates, with more than 14 million subscribers.  Zain started operations in Ghana in December 2008 and currently has about 1.2 million subscribers.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi