 "Airtel appeals against Nigerian court order on Econet")
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel today said that its Nigerian subsidiary has filed an appeal against a court judgement in Nigeria to reinstate 5 percent holding of the UK-based Econet Wireless (EWL) in Bharti Airtel Nigeria.
“In light of the judgement by the Federal High Court of Nigeria regarding Econet Wireless Limited’s claim to the ownership of 5 percent equity in Airtel Networks Ltd (Airtel Nigeria), an appeal against the said judgement has been filed by Airtel Nigeria,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement.[caption id=“attachment_198226” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Seeking legal course. Reuters”]  [/caption]
The statement added that the company abides by and has full confidence in the law of the land, and believes the appeal court will determine the appeal on its merits.
“In addition, the judgement will have no impact on the equity holding of other shareholders in Airtel Nigeria. We wish to assure our customers, employees and business partners that the ruling will in no way affect our operations or the company’s ability to fulfill obligations to its stakeholders,” a Bharti Airtel spokesperson said in the statement.
Earlier in the day, EWL in a statement has said that Federal High Court of Nigeria, in a judgement on 24 January, ruled that Econet Wireless is a shareholder of Bharti Airtel Nigeria Limited and holds 5 percent of the issued shares of the company.
“The court ordered Airtel to reinstate the shareholding of EWL,” the Econet statement said.
Econet had approached court against 2006 deal in which Celtel International bought 65 per cent stake in Nigerian mobile operator Vmobile, which is now owned by Bharti Airtel.
Vmobile was acquired by Kuwait’s biggest mobile-phone operator Zain which was in turn acquired by Bharti Airtel in 2010.
Econet owned 5 percent of Vmobile and said it has the right of first refusal on Vmobile’s shares.
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