Essar Group continues to remove itself from the telecom sector across the globe. After already leaving the Indian market, the company has now returned acquisitions in Uganda and Congo to Warid Telecom and a source close to the company has said they are looking for a buyer for their unit in Kenya. The source, which said they had recently held discussions with Essar's leadership, said the company was moving away from telecom in order to focus on other enterprises. “From what I gather from the meetings they are not thinking telecom networks are the right move for the company and are looking to off load all recent transactions to focus on other endeavors especially outsourcing,” said the source. In March, Essar agreed to sell its 33 percent stake in Vodafone Essar, India's third-largest telecom operator after Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, to Britain's Vodafone. The group had struck a deal for majority stake in Warid Telecom's operations in Uganda and Congo in November 2009, with an enterprise value of $318 million. A third source said the deal fell through because required approvals were not received. “It was mutually decided between the partners – Essar and Warid Group – not to proceed with the deal closure as certain condition precedents pertaining to government clearance were not met,” Essar said in a statement on Tuesday. The assets are now being returned to Warid, which will have to pay back Essar. BM
