Orange completed a deal to acquire Airtel’s mobile arm in Burkina Faso, making it the 20th country to join the French operator’s footprint in Africa and the Middle East (MEA).

Orange said in a statement it had obtained the official approval necessary to complete the deal, which was first announced in January this year.

At the same time, Orange said it would buy Airtel’s subsidiary in Sierra Leone, although no update on this was provided.

Notably, Orange has also seen talks fall through with Airtel this year on potential acquisitions of two other subsidiaries, in Chad and Congo Brazzaville.

Airtel is Burkina Faso’s second largest operator, with close to 4.6 million customers, and the country also boasts a mobile penetration rate of 80 per cent among its 18 million inhabitants, added Orange.

It also talked up Airtel’s efforts in the mobile financial services market, which is already interoperable with Orange Money, and its “extensive” ‘3.75G’ network, which has been rolled out to 100 towns.

“This new acquisition will further strengthen the group’s position on the African continent,” said Bruno Mettling, deputy CEO and chairman and CEO of Orange MEA.

Financial details remain undisclosed, however analysts reportedly value the acquisition at approximately €652 million.