Airtel finalizes acquisition of additional spectrum for $94M

Airtel Africa Plc has finalized its acquisition of a 10 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHZ band in Nigeria from Intercellular Nigeria Limited for a total consideration of $94 million. The acquisition is expected to strengthen and reposition Airtel’s LTE network across the country.

In a notification sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the investing public, the telecommunications giant noted that the total amount of $94m included Nigerian Communications Commission fees and in line with the NCC Spectrum Trading Guidelines.

Recall that on November 14th, 2019, the telco announced its intentions to acquire an additional 10 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHZ band in Nigeria. However, the agreement reached between Airtel Nigeria and Intercellular Nigeria Limited was for a consideration fee of $70 million. This fee excluded the NCC fees as stipulated under the NCC Spectrum Trading Guidelines.

The acquisition will strengthen Airtel’s LTE network by:

• - Improve and support the available capacity of Airtel’s existing 4G network



• Enable Airtel to better manage its CAPEX on 4G infrastructure, bearing in mind that the company currently operates a single RAN network, even as a majority of its sites support the activation of additional 10 MHz spectrum of 900 MHz



• The acquisition is expected to help Airtel to expand on its fixed wireless broadband service.



• Ultimately, the acquisition will help the company to become better positioned to provide more opportunities for data/digital services, improve on its voice call quality, and ensure customer satisfaction which will, in turn, lead to more revenue generation.

Commenting on the deal, the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa Plc, Raghunath Mandava, said:

“With increasing smartphone penetration, data usage, and a young growing population, Nigeria represents a significant growth opportunity in data. This investment will not only strengthen our leading 4G position in mobile data but also allow us to expand our fixed wireless broadband offer to support the government agenda for faster broadband services with improved coverage and availability.

“At Airtel Africa, we are committed to further strengthen our spectrum portfolio when there is a clear growth opportunity and this investment demonstrates our commitment to invest, at the right price, to continue to drive our business forward.”