Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) Tuesday approved the merger between Bharti Ghana Limited (Airtel) and Millicom Ghana Limited (Tigo) to proceed further which is however subject to conditions.
“This merger will result in an entity which will be the second largest mobile network operations in the country,” Sunil Mittal-driven Bharti Airtel in a statement said.
The merger between the two companies announced in March this year, required the regulator to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the application and the regulatory ecosystem.
The merged entities will have to submit a network integration plan to the regulator to ensure efficient and equitable distribution and access to the spectrum, which would also indicate how they intend to relinquish portions of their total spectrum allocation.
This, however, will be done in phases on geographical area basis and over a period not exceeding to 18 months to avoid disruptions on the network.
The merger approval is also conditioned with an option for government participation, the telco added.
Based on agreements which have been accepted by the merging entities and the payment of relevant fees, a supplementary agreement to the licences of the merging entities will be signed between the NCA and the merging entities.
The merged entity will have a 3G licence valid until 25th January, 2024 while their 2G licence will be valid until 30th October, 2021.