Bharti set to forcibly take full control of Zambian unit

Having confirmed last month that it would reapply to delist its Zambian subsidiary after its initial attempt was rejected, India’s Bharti Airtel has contacted all of Airtel Zambia’s remaining minority shareholders to inform them of its intentions to forcibly acquire the stake in the cellco it does not currently hold. According to All Africa, Bharti has sent a letter to those minority shareholders which declined to sell their shares after it launched a mandatory offer in November 2010, with the communication advising the 2,000 or so remaining stakeholders that Bharti had now met all conditions set in the Companies Act which allow it to press forward with acquiring the holding. ‘Since the conditions have been met Airtel is now proceeding to issue this acquisition notice to the minority shareholders within the two-month period specified in Section 237(2) of the Companies Act,’ noted the letter. Bharti will pay ZMK710 (USD0.15) per share, the same price that it offered back in November last year.