Telecel CEO Moh Damush told Bloomberg the company had struck deals to acquire two west Africa units from MTN Group, as it continues to scale its operations following its buyout of a majority stake in Vodafone Group’s Ghana business last year.

Damush told the outlet it was buying MTN’s debt and equity in Guinea Bissau and Guinea-Conakry, but did not disclose any financial details. An official statement on the deals has not been released by either company at the time of writing.

Telecel is an Africa-focused service provider with operations in several markets including Ghana, Central Africa Republic and Liberia. It was bought by Damush and partners Hugues Mulliez and Nicolas Bourg in 2017.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Damush explained its expansion is part of aims to launch an IPO in three years, revealing London and Dubai would be its preferred options for a listing.

“We are also interested in further developments in the next years that would allow considering African bourse,” he added.

In other long-term plans, Damush said it was targeting acquisitions of two other prospects in Africa, with its next round of dealmaking focused on financial services and technology companies “that can add value to our investments”.

It is funding its expansion through financing from shareholders, in addition to raising money from funds, banks and equity investors.

Telecel completed a deal to acquire a 70 per cent stake in Vodafone’s Ghana division in February 2023.