Peter Kaliaropoulos, Bahrain Telecom’s (Batelco) chief executive said that his company is seeking a credit rating in order to go to the global capital markets and built up an acquisition warchest. Kaliaropoulos told Bloomberg that he was looking to raise…
Peter Kaliaropoulos, Bahrain Telecom’s (Batelco) chief executive said that his company is seeking a credit rating in order to go to the global capital markets and built up an acquisition warchest. Kaliaropoulos told Bloomberg that he was looking to raise US$1.2bn to buy vector businesses in North Africa and in Asia. He also said that the company should receive its rating in the next few months. He said: “Our challenge is finding acquisition targets that are right at the right price. We are in discussions. The global economic environment has created opportunities as prices for assets have come down, but the good targets people aren’t selling.” The company has no plans to sell debt at the moment and will borrow depending on its needs for acquisitions, he added.
Batelco has been talking about this strategy for more than a year, and Kaliaropoulos has bandied around the figure of US$1.2bn in the past. Some analysts believe that this talk is just a dust-raising exercise. Simon Simonian, senior telecoms analyst for Shuaa Capital said: “It’s interesting that they are chasing a credit rating, as they now might be serious of building their business through acquisition. In the past they might have been muscled out of a lot of deals, such as the Méditel acquisition in Morocco.”
He continued: “A while back they were putting out signals that they were in the running for this firm. But I think when France Telecom opened discussions they were pushed out.”
JPMorgan Chase is advising Batelco on pursuing a rating, Kaliaropoulos said.
