The Bahraini telecoms group Batelco is aiming to make at least one acquisition in 2012, the Batelco Group CEO has told TelecomFinance.
CEO Shaikh Mohamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said that the company has an interest in existing operators that offer fixed and…
The Bahraini telecoms group Batelco is aiming to make at least one acquisition in 2012, the Batelco Group CEO has told TelecomFinance.
CEO Shaikh Mohamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said that the company has an interest in existing operators that offer fixed and wireless, broadband and data services, as well as a capability in data centres and ICT services like LAN/WAN management.
“Ideally these companies will have potential for further growth,” he said.
He added that geographically the company is still interested in the MENA and India/Asia-Pacific regions.
“We have built a reasonable cluster of businesses in MENA and we are keen to continue to search for suitable companies in adjacent geographies.”
Shaikh Mohamad said that the company would fund acquisitions through both raising debt and cashflows from its own operations.
In its 2011 annual report, Batelco said that it was free of debt and had cash and bank balances of BD108m (US$286m), as of 31 December 2011.
The CEO said that all Batelco Group companies are currently operating in countries with significant penetration, as well as competition for mobile and broadband services.
“Whilst some modest organic growth is expected, the key contributor to top and bottom line growth will be acquisitions.”
The Batelco Group provides a range of mobile, broadband and business-focused telecoms/ISP services through its subsidiaries.
It owns mobile operators Batelco Bahrain and Batelco Egypt, which provide data services to business customers. Batelco also holds a 96% stake in mobile operator Umniah Jordan and minority stakes in operators in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Shaikh Mohamad said: “Strategically, increasing the scale of our operations, diversification of our sources of revenues and delivery of innovative services at affordable value, are key pillars of our corporate strategy.”
In February, Batelco announced the sale of its 42.7% stake in Indian mobile operator STel for BD65.8m (US$174.5m) to its local partners, Sky City Foundation.
At the time, Shaikh Mohamad said that the company was still interested in investment opportunities that would allow it to participate in the Indian telecoms market.
The Batelco group reported revenues at BD327m (US$867m) in 2011, down from BD340m (US$903m) in 2010. The profit for 2011 was BD80m (US$212m).
