Moroccan-based fixed-line telecommunications operator Maroc Telecom has acquired a 51% stake in incumbent telecommunications company Gabon Telecom, for $79 million.
Maroc Telecom, a subsidiary of Paris-based Vivendi Telecom, recently won a tender to become a majority shareholder of the incumbent operator.
In a press statement, Abdeslam Ahizoune, chairman of the Maroc Telecom management board, said Gabon Telecom selected the company as a "strategic partner" to implement a restructuring and development plan to help the operator become a model for the region.
Gabon Telecom owns Libertis, one of three mobile telecoms operators in Gabon, which reported revenue of $180 million in 2006. It has a subscriber base of around 30 000 fixed-line subscribers, while Libertis had 250 000 subscribers and a 30% market share at the end of 2006.
Maroc Telecom has been the majority shareholder of Mauritel, the formerly government-owned Mauritanian telecom operator, since April 2001. It also became a 51% shareholder in Burkina Faso's incumbent fixed-line telecoms group Onatel, in December.
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