MTC subsidiary Celtel International acquires majority stake in Madacom, Madagascar

The agreement was reached with the current shareholders led by the Distacom Group.

Madacom, one of Madagascar's mobile telecom operators, offers extensive mobile coverage to more than 200,000 customers throughout the island and has an ambitious growth strategy to further increase coverage and provide enhanced services. This acquisition will give Madacom access to Celtel's operational expertise as well as the company's financial resources to realize the growth strategy.

According to MTC Group Chairman Mr. Asaad Al Banwan

"This agreement has allowed MTC to further expand into the African market through Celtel. By gaining majority share in Madacom, Celtel will be able both financially and technically assist Madacom in extending its coverage and the quality of its services in the country of Madagascar."

Celtel now offers mobile telecommunications services to more than 8.5 million customers in 14 countries in Africa with a total licensed population of approximately 270 million people. Celtel was advised by Lehman Brothers. With this recent acquisition MTC gains a new footprint in the region and adds to its portfolio to become a 19 country operation in less than 4 years.

Dr. Saad Hamad Al-Barrak, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of the MTC Group said "MTC and Celtel's focus on emerging telecommunications markets in Africa is a key component of the overall growth strategy of the MTC Group. The acquisition of a majority stake in Madacom is a very successful step in the Group's plans to expand its footprint in Africa. We will continue our drive to expand the coverage horizons of the Group within Africa as part of our commitment to the development of high-quality mobile telecommunications throughout the continent.

Marten Pieters, CEO of Celtel International, said: "We are delighted with the acquisition of a majority stake in Madacom. This is an important addition to our portfolio of 13 African countries in which we currently operate. We will contribute our expertise and operational experience to achieve sustainable development of mobile communications in Madagascar. Based on our pan-African experience in building mobile networks we are looking forward to increasing service quality and coverage for our customers in Madagascar."

Parwez Jugo, Managing Director of Madacom, said: "In Celtel we have found a partner with a proven, long-term track record of working in emerging markets. With the help of our new majority owner we can realize our plans for network quality and expansion in a timely and efficient manner. This transaction is good news for telecommunications in Madagascar."