UAE's Etisalat Closer To Top 10 With Zain Bid

The UAE?s Etisalat has offered around US$12bn for a 46% stake in Kuwait?s Zain Group in a bid made directly to the latter?s investors. It is reported that Zain?s shareholders are likely to accept the bid in a meeting held on September 30. The two operators are the largest pan-Middle Eastern operators and a tie-up brings their operations far ahead of rivals such as Saudi Telecoms Company and Qatar Telecom. When completed, it will be one of the largest deals to take place in the Gulf region. There have been suggestions that Etisalat will end its talks with India?s Reliance Communications, but BMI is not yet convinced that acquiring a stake in Zain is the end of Etisalat?s ambitions.

To read the full article, please choose one of the following options: