Kuwait’s Zain has bought an extra 6.25% stake for US$12.5m in its Bahraini mobile subsidiary, pushing its holding to 62.5%.
The move, which values Zain Bahrain at US$200m, allows the telecoms group to retain a controlling stake in the unit once it is…
Kuwait’s Zain has bought an extra 6.25% stake for US$12.5m in its Bahraini mobile subsidiary, pushing its holding to 62.5%.
The move, which values Zain Bahrain at US$200m, allows the telecoms group to retain a controlling stake in the unit once it is listed on the country’s bourse.
The Kuwaiti operator said it purchased the additional stake from other shareholders without providing further details. But it is understood that most of the stake was acquired from Vodafone, which previously had a 6.1% holding in the mobile operator. The UK company is now no longer invested in Zain Bahrain.
In 2013, Zain missed a deadline to float 15% of the unit within a decade of obtaining a licence.
Earlier this year, Bahrain’s ministry of industry and commerce received a request from the mobile unit to list on the country’s stock exchange. Reports suggested at the time that Zain was planning to launch the IPO by the end of June.
Zain CEO Scott Gegenheimer had previously told journalists that his company would rather not go below 50% in Zain Bahrain in order to “stay with a controlling interest”.
The mobile company claims to be the second-largest player in the country. Its competitors are Batelco and Viva.
