Official: Airtel Kenya Merges With Telkom To Birth Airtel-Telkom
The long-awaited deal between Bharti Airtel’s East African arm and Telkom Kenya has finally seen the light of day. The merger, which was reported to hold soon after rumors spread, is now set to take on Safaricom in terms of product and service offerings.
Having released an official statement to this effect, it shows that both service providers have signed the binding agreement to merge their Kenyan operations in mobile, enterprise and carrier services. Nonetheless, Telkom’s real estate investment and particular government services are not addressed in the pact.
The new service providing will be known as Airtel-Telkom. Telkom Kenya’s CEO Mugo Kibati will be the company’s Chair while, Airtel Networks Kenya CEO Mr. Prasanta Sarma, will be the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
Per a released statement, there will be no immediate changes to the ‘leadership and management, legal, organizational and staffing structures.’ The release also added that “Service delivery to the respective companies’ customers, as well as engagement with all business partners of both companies, will continue to operate as usual.”
Concerning the merger of the companies – who have both experienced significant market growth in the past year – the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has this to say: “This move is well aligned with the government’s agenda to optimize the value of the assets that it holds in trust, on behalf of Kenyans, while cementing the country’s position not only as a regional business hub but also as an international investment magnet.”
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