Millicom sells Tigo Sri Lanka to Etisalat

Millicom International Cellular (MIC) has announced that it has entered into an unconditional agreement for the sale of its Sri Lankan mobile network operating subsidiary, Tigo (Private) Limited, to Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates for approximately USD155 million in total cash proceeds. According to the press release, the transaction values the Sri Lankan operation at an enterprise value of USD207 million. The deal is not subject to any conditions and is expected to close on or before 20 October 2009. Mikael Grahne, President and CEO of MIC, commented: ‘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 programme and, upon completion of the previously announced transactions concerning our Cambodian and Laotian operations, will leave the group well positioned to focus on the significant long term growth opportunities in Latin America and Africa.’ Other interested potential bidders for the Sri Lankan unit were Malaysia’s Axiata and India’s Bharti Airtel.