Bahraini incumbent Batelco considers divesting a 30% stake in local subsidiary S Tel in order to unlock value, according to Dow Jones citing two people familiar with the situation.
Batelco bought a 49% in S Tel for US$225m in early 2009. It currently…
Bahraini incumbent Batelco considers divesting a 30% stake in local subsidiary S Tel in order to unlock value, according to Dow Jones citing two people familiar with the situation.
Batelco bought a 49% in S Tel for US$225m in early 2009. It currently holds a 42.7% stake in the Indian mobile joint venture with local private equity firm Siva Ventures.
Two months ago, Batelco CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos Batelco was quoted saying that the company was assessing its options for S Tel since the market had proved more challenging than expected. He reportedly added that the fall in mobile prices had exceeded even the worst case scenarios Batelco had predicted.
In notice to the Bharain Bourse on 8 September, Kaliaropoulos said: “Batelco is committed to the Indian telecommunications market and values the opportunities for growth that will be enhanced by future market consolidation in the industry despite some short term challenges.
“We are shareholders in S Tel and we will review other opportunities for investment in the industry when such are presented to us, which also meet our investment criteria.”
