Bharti's Bid For Zain Zambia Rejected By Bourse Regulator

Zambia’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected Indian operator Bharti Airtel’s latest bid for the publicly listed stake of its majority-owned mobile subsidiary Zain Zambia, The Post reports.

According to the local newspaper, the SEC turned down a bid by Bharti Airtel of ZMK710 (USD0.144) per share for the 22% stake, with the offer refused on the basis that it was too far below market estimations.

This is the second time that Bharti has had an offer for the stake rejected; last month it put forward a ZMK675 per share proposal. It is believed that most commissioners at the SEC believe that the lowest acceptable price for Bharti to proceed with a mandatory offer would be ZWK1,126 per share.