Not party to Bharti-Zain deal: Econet

Econet Wireless, which owns a five per cent stake in Zain Nigeria, has said it was not party to any agreement between Zain and Bharti.

Econet has been seeking to overturn a 2006 deal whereby Zain, then called Celtel, bought a majority stake in Nigerian mobile operator Vee Networks Ltd, now Zain Nigeria.

However, while announcing the closure of the Bharti-Zain deal, Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said on Tuesday, while Econet has had no contact with Bharti, it did not see Econet posing a problem for operations in Nigeria, which is the largest market for Zain Africa.