Wari Group has denounced the decision by Millicom to abandon the sale of Tigo Senegal to Wari in favour of other investors and said it would consider legal action.
Pursuant to the February agreement between Wari and Millicom, Wari said it has fulfilled all its commitments in connection with the acquisition of the second Senegalese operator, having paid the initial deposit and initiated a post-signing due diligence process, which is planned to be executed over nine months (review of all the commercial, legal, financial and technical aspects of Tigo), and which would then lead to a payment of the remainder of the fees subject to satisfactory outcome.
As a part of its detailed due diligence Wari said it engaged with a "renowned" international telecoms partner for unbiased feedback. Wari, along with its financial and technical partner, continues to comply with the timelines and processes agreed, and, therefore, having planned to make the payment by 30 September in accordance with the commitments of its banking partner, denounces a unilateral breach of the contract by Millicom and also appeals to the authorities regarding such forfeiture.
Wari also denounced the attitude of the consortium composed of Xavier Niel’s NJJ (Free) and Sofima (Hassan Hiridjee’s Axian Group) who have several times before tried to derail Wari’s acquisition, according to the company. After Wari and Millicom signed the agreement in February, the competing consortium offered Wari to be the technical partner with a downgraded purchase offer to Millicom and a mere 5-10 percent of the shares for Wari. For patriotic reasons, Wari categorically rejected this offer. Wari added that this announcement is strongly denounced by the highest authorities of Senegal and that it will be the subject of legal proceedings if Millicom persists in its unilateral decision.
