MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, March 29, (Agencies): India’s Bharti Airtel and Kuwait’s Zain are likely to sign agreements for the Indian firm’s $9 billion buy of Zain’s African assets on Tuesday, two sources said.
The agreements will be signed in Amsterdam, the base of the target unit Zain Africa BV, one of the sources said. Both the sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. A Bharti Airtel spokesman declined comment. Earlier, two Kuwaiti newspapers reported the deal was likely to be signed on Tuesday. Bharti and Zain said in separate statements last week the due diligence for the assets had been completed and the companies were working towards finalising the definitive agreements. Bharti had said it expected the agreements to be signed soon. Zain’s chairman was quoted on Saturday as saying the deal would be signed in the next few days, though the closing could take weeks or months.

Both Bharti and Zain have said they would seek any required approvals after the signing of the deal.
Bharti, controlled by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, who started his career selling bicycle parts, is desperate to expand in new markets as cut-rate competition at home squeezes profit margins.
Zain’s assets will give the Indian mobile market leader a footprint in 15 African countries.
Bharti Airtel shares closed 0.2 percent higher on Monday, underperforming the broader market that gained 0.4 percent. Zain shares ended 1.5 percent up at 1.4 Kuwaiti dinars.
Bharti and Kuwait’s largest mobile operator Zain said in separate statements last week that they have finalised agreement for the sale of Zain’s operations in 15 African nations.
After the signing, the two companies will move towards getting any required approvals, Zain said.
The sale of the African assets does not include Zain’s operation in Sudan or its investment in Morocco.
The value of the deal includes $1.7 billion of debt that the Indian telecom giant will assume.
Bharti is due to pay $8.3 billion on signature of the deal, while the remaining $700 million will be paid a year later.

Bharti Airtel, the largest Indian mobile phone operator, said last week it had raised the $8.3 billion, mainly from international banks.
If the deal goes through, Bharti, which already has 125 million Indian subscribers, would get 42 million clients in 15 African countries from Burkina Faso to Zambia, while Zain clients will shrink to 30 million from 72 million.
Zain had said that it expects to post returns of up to five billion dollars from the deal.
Meanwhile, the government of Gabon said on Monday it “disapproves” of the sale of Zain’s Gabonese assets to India’s Bharti Airtel and reserves the right to take “all necessary measures”.
Gabon said in a statement that Zain Gabon had not complied with Gabonese telecommunications regulations.
Zain is about to sell its African assets, excluding Sudan and Morocco, to Bharti for $9 billion, giving the Indian buyer a much sought-after foothold in Africa’s fast-growing market.