Telecom
Airtel Plans Sale of Subsidiaries’ to Boost Nigerian Operations
Bharti Airtel has commenced final talks to sell four of its African subsidiaries to France’s Orange SA for $1bn (N197bn) in order to consolidate its stake in Nigeria.
After the sale, which should be completed before the end of this year, the company plans to plough about $700m (N138bn) – more than one-third of the funds – back into its investments in Nigeria.
The decision to sell the four subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone, our correspondent learnt on Wednesday, had to do with the company’s inability to become the dominant operator since its entry into Nigeria in 2010.
It was gathered that this had been dragging the carrier’s consolidated financials, which had kept it at a distant third behind MTN and Globacom.
“Bharti Airtel is looking to sell its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone,” an employee in the Corporate Communications Department of Airtel Nigeria confided in our correspondent.
The Airtel employee, who said he was not officially authorised to speak to journalists, said the four countries in question roughly contributed between $650m (N128.02bn) and $660m (N130bn) to Airtel Africa’s top line of $4.71bn (N927.63bn) as of the end of March this year.
“Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the four countries were close to $180m (N35bn) in the period under review,” he said.
Bharti Airtel confirmed the deal in a statement, “Orange and Airtel have entered into an exclusive agreement to explore the acquisition by Orange of Airtel’s subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.
“Africa has long been a drag on Bharti’s overall performance, often offsetting the healthy growth numbers the company registered in its Indian operations.”
Bharti Airtel is the world’s third-largest telecoms firm and has operations in 17 African countries.
With operations in 29 countries, it reported a total customer base of 247 million worldwide as of March 31, 2015, including 188 million mobile customers and 16 million fixed broadband customers.
The firm currently has 29.5 million subscribers in Nigeria and about 17.6 million Internet users.
ETTelecom.com stated that Airtel’s net loss in Africa for the fiscal fourth quarter of the year ended March 2015 widened to $183m (N36.04bn) from $105m (N20.68bn) a year back, hurt by foreign exchange losses.
It stated that the company’s Africa revenue had dropped by 12.6 per cent in the quarter ended March 2015 to $1bn over the previous year’s $1.14bn.
According to ETTelecom.com, growth was limited by currency depreciation of 18.4 per cent, in reported currency terms. The company has 76.3 million subscribers in Africa that grew by 9.8 per cent year-on-year.
Bharti Airtel had purchased Kuwait-based Zain Telecom’s African operations across 17 countries for $10.7bn; a sum industry players said was hefty for the loss-making operations.
The company has been unable to turn around operations in Africa despite appointing a new head, Christian De Faria, last year.
Bharti Airtel in February had denied talks with Orange over any potential sale. Orange, formerly known as France Telecom, recorded revenue of €39bn in 2014.
With operations in 29 countries, it reported a total customer base of 247 million worldwide by March 31, 2015, including 188 million mobile customers and 16 million fixed broadband customers, with sources saying that Orange would be more interested in the Francophone operations of Bharti, and not the East African subsidiaries.
The need for Nigeria to think outside the box in its need to drive towards global relevance with innovations and scientific developments will be on the front burner at the NITRA Innovative & Scientific Conference scheduled to hold on Thursday July 23, 2026 in Ikeja, Lagos.
NITRA
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will lead other delegates to discuss and take far-reaching decisions at the event, which has its theme as “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide With Scientific Innovation”.
Other companies that have indicated interest in partnering with NITRA include mobile communications company, Tecno; Africa’s premier end-to-end AI solutions company, Hyperspace; and telecommunications data infrastructure company, Digital Realty.
Speaking on the proposed event, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), Chike Onwuegbuchi noted that the event will seek to create a platform for government and private organisations to deliberate on policies around scientific innovations in Nigeria, challenges, place of indigenous and foreign collaboration, roles of each stakeholder, and grassroots development in that regard, among others.
According to him: “The Federal government, with series of programmes and partnerships, has established the urgent need to create an ecosystem that thrives on scientific innovation, breeding institutions and individuals with a target of placing the country at the fore-front of Next-Gen development.
It is a known fact that digital and scientific innovations are crucial, not only to the survivability of a nation, but also to the sustainability of its growth and development, with significant effect on economic strength, global image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety, communication and digital footprint, among others.
The federal government is actively driving scientific innovation to foster economic diversification and build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Efforts are heavily focused on commercializing research, establishing massive research funds, and funding strategic infrastructure, particularly in technology, biotechnology, and healthcare. Core government initiatives and policies include the newly instituted National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF), which aims to mobilize about $500 million annually to support research and the commercialization of scientific outputs; and the Nigeria Genomic City, a multi-ministerial initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading hub for genomics, precision medicine, and biotechnology. It is designed to protect indigenous data, stimulate artificial intelligence in health, and develop a highly skilled scientific workforce.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum will also be a vehicle to propagating the views of decision makers to the public, thereby furthering the cause of public awareness and information dissemination on the topic.
The focus, he said will be on how Nigeria can sustain digital innovative growth and scientific development in Nigeria
The board of global payments company, PayPal, says a 53 billion dollars takeover offer from financial technology firm, Stripe, and private equity company, Advent International, does not adequately reflect the company’s long-term value.
PayPal
According to reports, the proposed acquisition, valued at 60.50 dollars per share, remains under consideration, with the board yet to formally respond to the offer.
The directors are said to be evaluating not only the financial value of the proposal but also the structure of the financing, the timeline for completing the transaction and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approvals.
They are also considering the possibility of competing bids emerging.
Although the offer represents a premium of about 28 per cent above PayPal’s recent share price, the board believes the company could deliver greater value to shareholders if its ongoing turnaround strategy succeeds.
Following reports of the bid, PayPal shares gained about two per cent to close at 56.73 dollars.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Stripe and Advent have secured approximately 50 billion dollars in debt financing from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while both firms would jointly contribute 17 billion dollars in equity.
Under the proposal, the two companies would jointly own PayPal instead of dividing its operations.
PayPal, Stripe, Advent International, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have all declined to comment on the proposed transaction.
The discussions come as PayPal seeks to strengthen its business after years of increasing competition from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay and emerging financial technology firms.
The company, which was valued at about 360 billion dollars in 2021, now has a market capitalisation of approximately 36 billion dollars.
Since assuming office as Chief Executive Officer in March 2026, Enrique Lores has embarked on a restructuring programme aimed at improving operational efficiency and restoring growth.
The restructuring includes the creation of three business divisions comprising Checkout, Venmo and Consumer Financial Services, and Payments and Crypto.
The company is also targeting 1.5 billion dollars in cost savings through the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
PayPal’s latest financial results indicated signs of recovery, with first-quarter revenue rising seven per cent year-on-year to 8.35 billion dollars, while total payment volume increased by eight per cent to 464 billion dollars.
If approved, the transaction would combine two of the world’s largest digital payments companies.
The combined business would process an estimated 3.7 trillion dollars in annual payment volume, significantly strengthening its position in the global online payments market.
However, analysts expect the proposed acquisition to face intense regulatory scrutiny because of the companies’ combined market share in merchant payment services.
To address possible antitrust concerns, the bidders have reportedly considered options, including separating PayPal’s Braintree business or other assets if required by regulators.
Sources said Stripe and Advent remain interested in pursuing the acquisition despite the board’s reservations, although negotiations are expected to continue.
Market observers are also awaiting PayPal’s earnings report scheduled for July 28 for further indications of the company’s financial recovery and future growth prospects.
Concerns over network reliability and its impact on Nigeria’s growing creator economy took centre stage at MTN Nigeria’s Data on Trial event, where content creator and streamer, Jarvis, challenged telecommunications operators to improve connectivity for digital creators.
Speaking during the event, Jarvis asked whether there were locations in Nigeria where uninterrupted internet connectivity could support real-life (IRL) streaming without network disruptions.
“Are there places where there is no breakage when streaming IRL?” she asked.
Her question highlighted the challenges faced by content creators who depend on stable internet services for live streaming, content uploads and real-time engagement with audiences.
Responding, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Technical Officer, Mr Yahaya Ibrahim, said network performance depends on several factors, including location, network coverage, device capability and the number of users connected to a particular base station.
He noted that operators continue to invest in expanding network capacity to meet the growing demand for data services.
Earlier, MTN’s General Manager, Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mr Michael Ndukwe, explained the evolution of mobile network technology in Nigeria, from first-generation (1G) services to the current fifth-generation (5G) technology.
According to him, each phase of technological advancement has significantly increased network capacity and enabled new digital services.
Ndukwe cited Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showing that Nigerians consumed about 13.2 million terabytes of data in 2025.
He added that data usage reached approximately 4.06 million terabytes in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the country’s increasing reliance on digital platforms and online services.
According to him, the growth is being driven by wider adoption of 4G and 5G networks, increased smartphone penetration, the proliferation of smart devices and expanding use of social media platforms.
Participants at the event noted that as more Nigerians build businesses and careers around digital content, access to reliable and high-speed internet has become critical to sustaining the country’s digital economy and creator ecosystem.
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