ABU DHABI -- Etisalat today announced the acquisition of additional shares in Atlantique Telecom. This brings Etisalat’s total shareholding to 70%, an increase of 20%.

Atlantique Telecom holds variant majority shares in seven telecommunications organisations across the Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Togo and the Central African Republic. These countries hold a combined population of approximately 60 million and mobile phone penetration of less than 10%.

Etisalat started its relationship with Atlantique Telecom in 2005, when it acquired 50% of the company. Today, Etisalat supervises the operations of Atlantique Telecom through a 10-year management contract.

With Etisalat’s support, Atlantique acquired a license to enter the largest market in West Africa, Cote D’Ivoire, which was officially launched in July 2006. In the first 5 months of operations, this subsidiary, named Moov, had acquired a 21% market share.

Etisalat