Airtel offered for sale

Airtel who said 'bricks to others' .... now offered for sale

 If Airtel is sold, Mobitel will be Third

    The Airtel mobile phone network which broadcast commercial advertisements in the past contrasting mobile phones with SIM cards of other companies as 'bricks', it is reported has now decided to sell its operations activities in Sri Lanka. As such, they are to sell it to Etiselat. The Airtel Company wich came from India some years ago created a big stir by offering free SIM cards for the first time had thus aspired to achieving a grand status of gaining the reputation of being the largest network in Sri Lanka was unable to achieve the same success they achieved in India. Competitors like Mobitel and Dialog did not permit them to lift their heads up by introducing packages such as Udara and Blaster.

    In the meantime while the old Celtell network which operated unsuccessfully under the name Tigo managed to win customer attraction as Etiselat with a fresh outlook utilising Arab commercial strategies by now has been able to secure 4 and a half million customers.

  The number of customers to their credit is only 1.7 million. As such, if Etiselat were to purchase Airtel the total number of customers acquired by them would rise to a figure of 6.2 million. Etiselat Company of Abudhabi which presently enjoys a service as the 3rd largest in Sri Lanka would then clinch the second position. It has been officially announced that Dialog has 8.2 million customers, in the 2nd Quarter of 2013; but though Mobitel has not announced the number of customers to their credit, internal reports say that they possess a figure somewhere between 5 - 6. As such, Etiselat gaining Second position is a revolutionary achievement.

  Economic Times has presented detailed information about Airtel Company as prepared to wind-up their operations activities while Standard Chartered Bank which provided advice to the Indian Airtel Company continuously has advised their client that it would be a better proposition to sell the Company in view of the drop in new memberships and maintaining the network with a loss. Accordingly, it is understood that the Sri Lanka Airtel operations is to sell it to Etiselat for a sum between 110 - 130.