Bharti Airtel raises stake in Nigerian subsidiary to 79.06%

Bharti Airtel says that it has increased its stake in its Nigerian subsidiary after buying 13.36 per cent of additional shares from unnamed sellers.

"Bharti Airtel Ltd has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bharti Airtel Nigeria B.V., has acquired an additional (around) 13.36 equity stake in Airtel Networks Ltd, Nigeria from certain existing shareholders," Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel now owns 79.06 per cent of the Nigerian mobile network.

Financial details were not disclosed.

However, Airtel still faces challenges over a five per cent stake claimed by Econet Wireless in Airtel Nigeria, and ratified by an international arbitration tribunal and Nigerian court.