Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore
The deal for Safaricom to acquire Essar Communications Limited(Yu mobile) assets seems to be going off without any hitches. This comes after Safaricom announced that it has received all regulatory approvals required to complete its USD 80 million (Shs 7.2 billion) acquisition of various assets of Essar.
The acquisition, which many consider to be the largest of its kind in the telecom’s sector in Kenya, has received the approvals of the Communications Authority of Kenya, the Competition Authority of Kenya and the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya. The transaction which involves the acquisition by Safaricom of Essar’s passive network infrastructure and frequency spectrum,will also extend to the on boarding of 150 of Essar’s employees.
“This strategic acquisition provides us with the opportunity to bolster our services to our 22 million customers. I am confident that our customers in both urban and rural areas will benefit from the anticipated improvement of thequality of service on both voice and data services as we switch on more of the acquiredcapacity,†said Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob Collymore.
Safaricom will now embark on the process of incorporating Essar’s assets into its network as well as start to utilize the spectrum it will receive as part of the deal. Safaricom has also successfully concluded talent interviews for the Essar employees who are expected to join the company from late November 2014.