Celtel International, a subsidiary of MTC and one of Africa's leading mobile operators in sub-Sahara Africa, announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Madagascar's mobile telecom operator, Madacom for an undisclosed amount. The agreement was reached with the current shareholders led by the Distacom Group.

Madacom, one of Madagascar's mobile telecom operators, offers extensive mobile coverage to more than 200,000 customers throughout the island and has an ambitious growth strategy to further increase coverage and provide enhanced services. This acquisition will give Madacom access to Celtel's operational expertise as well as the company's financial resources to realize the growth strategy.

Celtel now offers mobile telecommunications services to more than 8.5 million customers in 14 countries in Africa with a total licensed population of approximately 270 million people.

Celtel was advised by Lehman Brothers.

Marten Pieters, CEO of Celtel International, said: ''We are delighted with the acquisition of a majority stake in Madacom. This is an important addition to our portfolio of 13 African countries in which we currently operate. We will contribute our expertise and operational experience to achieve sustainable development of mobile communications in Madagascar. Based on our pan-African experience in building mobile networks we are looking forward to increasing service quality and coverage for our customers in Madagascar.''

Parwez Jugo, Managing Director of Madacom, said: ''In Celtel we have found a partner with a proven, long-term track record of working in emerging markets. With the help of our new majority owner we can realize our plans for network quality and expansion in a timely and efficient manner. This transaction is good news for telecommunications in Madagascar.''