TeleGeography, citing India’s Economic Times, reports that the Essar Group is seeking to merge its telecoms license in Uganda with the operations of Warid Telecom. Warid, owned by the UAE-based Dhabi Group, launched GSM services in February 2008 and now boasts a subscriber base of around 1.7 million. Essar, which bagged a Ugandan mobile license in June 2009, wants to combine forces with Warid and take a majority stake in the merged entity. The report also suggests that Essar is planning a similar tie-up with Warid in the Republic of Congo.