Govt To Engage Transaction Advisors For In AirtelTigo Takeover …Ursula Owusu

Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has reportedly said that government intends to engage the services of a transaction advisor for advice on the long-term future of AirtelTigo, the telco recently acquired by the State.

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful is also quoted as saying that the government is also looking to engage the services of a management company to assist the government manage the new asset for the time being.

“We intend to engage transaction advisors to provide expert advice on the options for the long-term structure of the company going forward, but for the immediate future we are going to engage a management services company to assist the government in this regard” she is quoted as saying.

The revelation implies that the government did not really take time to think through its decision to acquire AirtelTigo, a telco that has consistently struggled to keep up in the industry dominated by MTN.

The idea of a Management company and a transaction advisor suggests the people who will be hired will be private individuals who will come in at hefty fees as well.

The government took over the operations of AirtelTigo last month, after finalizing an asset transfer paperwork to pave way for the acquisition of the company.

This was after the parent companies of the joint venture firm, Bharti Airtel and Millicom, had decided to exit some markets in Sub Saharan Africa including Ghana.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful has promised that government will put the necessary investment in the tricky asset.

“This is a capital-intensive industry and if you invest you will get the returns, but if not you will feel the pinch and that’s what’s playing out in the industry,” she said.

“But we have the commitment at the highest level…that in the interim….whatever investments it requires to upgrade and extend their operations [AirteTigo], they will get it. The government is stepping into the shoes of a shareholder whose investments is to get dividend”, she pointed out.