UAE’s Etisalat has confirmed that its unit Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has expressed interest in local mobile operator Warid Telecom.
In an emailed statement, an Etisalat spokesperson declined to comment further on the situation but said…
UAE’s Etisalat has confirmed that its unit Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) has expressed interest in local mobile operator Warid Telecom.
In an emailed statement, an Etisalat spokesperson declined to comment further on the situation but said that the UAE operator has managerial control of PTCL, with an estimated 26% stake.
PTCL controls Ufone, Pakistan’s third-largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers.
The Abu Dhabi Group fully owns Warid, the fifth-largest and smallest carrier in the country, and put it on the block last month in a sale that could reportedly fetch up to US$1bn.
A few days ago, Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs has been mandated to work on a deal.
Earlier this year, telco giant Singapore Telecommunications exited Warid by selling its 30% stake to The Abu Dhabi Group for US$150m.
If successful, a merger between Ufone and Warid would see the number of operators in Pakistan fall to four from five at the moment.
The rest of the market is made up by VimpelCom’s Mobilink, Telenor and China Mobile’s Zong.
