Qatar Telecom Raises Stake in Wataniya Telecom Kuwait to 92%

Published on: 7th Oct 2012

­Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has closed on its offer to increase its stake in Wataniya Telecom Kuwait, and has secured ownership of 92.1% of the company.

Following the expiry of Qtel's offer to acquire the 47.5% of shares it does not own in Wataniya Telecom Kuwait on 4 October 2012, Qtel has received acceptances from shareholders for 39.61% of the total shares in issue. Qtel originally made the offer to all other shareholders of Wataniya Telecom Kuwait on 4 September 2012. Following the conclusion of the offer, Qtel will have increased its shareholding in Wataniya Telecom Kuwait from 52.5 to 92.1%.

Commenting on the conclusion of the Offer, His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chairman of Qtel and the Qtel Group said: "We are delighted with the level of acceptances received from Wataniya Telecom Kuwait's shareholders. We believe this is testament to the attractiveness of the offer which gave the opportunity for shareholders to capitalise on their investment in Wataniya Telecom Kuwait at a fair price and at an appropriate stage in the company's investment cycle."

"We also respect the decision of those Wataniya Telecom shareholders who decided not to accept the offer and look forward to their continuing support as we enter into a new period of investment across all Wataniya Telecom Kuwait's main markets. We are also grateful for the Algerian Authorities understanding of our position, taking into consideration that no change takes place in the Wataniya Telecom Algeria management control in line with Algerian law, and granting us the opportunity to fulfil this deal which will stimulate our investments, particularly in the promising and thriving Algerian market," he added.

In 2007, Qtel paid US$3.8 billion for an initial 51 percent stake in Wataniya Telecom Kuwait. In 2011, Wataniya Telcom Kuwait posted revenue of US$2.62 billion and net profit of US$1.3 billion.

Wataniya Telecom Kuwait has complete ownership of Wataniya Kuwait, in addition to stakes in Wataniya-Maldives (100%), Wataniya-Palestine (48.5%), Nedjma in Algeria (71%), PTC-Bravo in Saudi Arabia (100%), and Tunisiana in Tunisia (75%).

 

Tags: [qtel]  [wataniya telecom]  [Kuwait]  [Qatar]