The al-Kharafi family is “pleased” with the US$10.5bn UAE incumbent Etisalat has offered for 46% of Kuwait-based Zain, where they are the largest private investor.
“We are pleased with offered price because it is good and suitable for both sides,”…
The al-Kharafi family is “pleased” with the US$10.5bn UAE incumbent Etisalat has offered for 46% of Kuwait-based Zain, where they are the largest private investor.
“We are pleased with offered price because it is good and suitable for both sides,” Nasser al-Kharafi, chairman of the Kharafi Group, told Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas.
This afternoon, the National Investment Company of Kuwait, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, confirmed in a statement to the Kuwait Stock Exchange that it had received a preliminary offer for the shares it owns in Zain from Etisalat.
The Kharafi Group, the family office representing Kuwait’s wealthiest family, directly owns of 12.7% of Zain, but up to 20% if indirect stakes are taken into account.
This morning, Etisalat issued a press release confirming that a preliminary offer had been made.
Ahmed bin Ali, Etisalat’s group senior vice president of corporate communication said: “We would like to emphasize that no final agreement has been reached at this point in time as this offer depends on the fulfilment of specific requirements and conditions that must be met to finalize the deal.”
As of the end of March, there were 4,292,462 shares issued by Zain. Of these, 3,866,751 were outstanding, with 425,711 shares held by the directors and employees of the company.
Zain has yet to release a statement or provide comment.