Airtel says made no firm bid for Nigerian 9mobile

Bharti Airtel today said it has not made a firm bid for buying Nigerian telco 9mobile, due to absence of key information and data that is otherwise made available in such processes.
The comment comes amid reports that Airtel had expressed an interest to acquire the debt-laden Nigerian rival in a bid to bolster its position in Africa's major telecom market, but shied away from placing a financial bid.
"In the absence of key information / key contracts and other requested data, all of which is ordinarily made available during bids of this kind, we have been unable to participate in this process," an Airtel Africa spokesperson said responding to an email query by PTI.

The company did not provide any further details on the matter.
Reports suggested that takeover bids from interested buyers for 9mobile are being examined by Barclays Africa but that a deal may still be a few months away since it will entail a restructuring 9mobile's debt.
For the third quarter ended December 31, 2017, Bharti Airtel's overall Africa revenues were up 5.3 per cent year- on-year in constant currency terms. The Africa Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin at 35.5 per cent, was up 10.8 per cent compared to year ago period, the company had said in during its quarterly earnings announcement.