Millicom International Cellular (MIC) has announced that it has sold its Tigo Senegal unit to local digital financial services company, Wari Group, for a fee of USD129 million.
The sale and purchase agreement was signed February 8, 2017 pending regulatory approval for Wari Group to officially take over Tigo Senegal.
Mauricio Ramos, CEO of Millicom said: “With the support of the people of Senegal we have been able to empower millions of customers with mobile technology, and to help promote social and financial inclusion across the country. We are grateful to all of our employees, whose drive and commitment has enabled Tigo Senegal to become such a strong and sustainable business and are confident that Wari Group will build on the current strength of Tigo Senegal.”
Kabirou Mbodje, CEO of Wari Group was quoted as saying “by pooling the advantages of mobile telephony offered by Tigo and the world of benefits provided by Wari, a leading platform for digital financial services, we combine the expertise, energies and ambitions of our teams and our two groups in order to offer more convenient and affordable services to users.’
Tigo is the second biggest mobile phone operator in Senegal after Wari.
Launched in 1999, Tigo Senegal is one of the leading mobile service providers in Senegal. It has more than 3 million customers, who use its mobile, Internet and financial services.
Tigo Senegal offers GSM and 3G+ networks to its customers, employs 387 people directly and 15,000 indirectly, and has invested more than US$220 million between 2012 to 2014 in the Senegalese market.
Meanwhile, Wari also provides digital financial services in Africa with 500,000 sending outlets worldwide and 45,000 paying points.
