Bharti Airtel announced it will exit the Ghanaian telecoms market with the government set to acquire all shares in its joint venture AirtelTigo.
In a stock exchange notice, Bharti Airtel said the decision to depart the market was approved by the company’s board on October 27, and it will pay the Ghanaian government an impairment charge of INR1.84 billion ($24 million).
AirtelTigo was a joint venture between Airtel and Millicom, with both companies holding a non-controlling 49.95% share in the unit. The company was formed in 2017 when Airtel and Millicom decided to combine operations in the country to boost their services by providing higher data speeds and wider coverage.
Ghana was noted as one of many African markets driving growth in the continent for the Indian telecoms group. The company reported a customer base of 4.7 million and EBITDA of INR179 million ($2.4 million) in its fourth quarter ending March 20.
The operator also said it was looking to reduce its African footprint through consolidation or stake reductions in six-non-profitable markets in the continent back in 2017.
