Update: As we had anticipated (Warid Will Need A Makeover), Warid in Bangladesh will be rebranded as Airtel within four to six months, Financial Express reports. Speculation that a corporate reshuffling would result in job losses in the market is rife but the operator has denied it. Bangladesh could expect a tariff war not dissimilar to what happened in India recently; Airtel sparked one in Sri Lanka by offering free SIM cards in Sri Lanka when it launched last year. Earlier (Jan 12): India's top mobile operator Bharti Airtel has now officially announced the acquisition of 70% stake in Warid Telecom, coinciding with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India. Warid has around 2.9 million connections. Airtel will buy out shares from owner Abu Dhabi group for an unquoted "nominal" sum and also from the issue of fresh shares at par. The Dhabi group will hold 30% stake and remain a strategic investor in Warid Bangladesh. The group recently sold its assets in Warid Africa to the Essar group. While Airtel will have management and board control of Warid, the Dhabi group will place its nominees on the board. Airtel will invest an initial sum of $300 million to expand the operator's network in Bangladesh, and has plans to invest $1 billion overall. Apart from India Airtel also has operations in Sri Lanka and Seychelles. Bharti Airtel Lanka Pvt Ltd was launched in January 2009, it claimed to have one million connections by June. Bangladesh has a population of 160 million of which less…
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