Etisalat buys Millicom-owned Tigo

18-Oct-2009
 
Millicom International Cellular S.A. (“Millicom”) (Nasdaq Stock Market: MICC and Stockholmsbörsen: MIC) Thursday announced it entered into an unconditional agreement for the sale of Tigo (Private) Limited, its Sri Lanka operation, to Etisalat (Emirates Telecommunication Corporation, Dubai) for approximately $155 million in total cash proceeds.
The transaction values the Sri Lanka operation at an enterprise value of $207 million, which represents approximately 7.4x estimated 2009 EBITDA. The transaction is not subject to any conditions and is expected to close on or before October 20, 2009.

CEO Tigo, Dumindra Ratnayake who declined to comment on the new deal said, more details on this new partnership would be disclosed soon.

Mikael Grahne, President and CEO of Millicom, in a press release has stated, “We are very pleased to have agreed to sell our Sri Lanka operations to Etisalat. Our management team there has performed very well in establishing a strong market position and I would like to thank all our employees in Sri Lanka for their contribution over the years.

“This agreement represents the final element of our recent divestment program. Upon completion of the previously announced transactions concerning Cambodian and Laotian operations, it will leave the Group well positioned to focus on the significant long term growth opportunities in Latin America and Africa.”
Millicom International Cellular S.A. is a global telecommunications group with mobile telephony operations in 16 countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. It also operates cable and broadband businesses in five countries in Central America.
millicom.com