The Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) has invested US$50m in Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa (VMMEA), to support the MVNO’s expansion plans in the region.
Currently Oman is the only country in the Gulf which allows MVNOs, with Saudi Arabia set to…
The Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) has invested US$50m in Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa (VMMEA), to support the MVNO’s expansion plans in the region.
Currently Oman is the only country in the Gulf which allows MVNOs, with Saudi Arabia set to award licences later this year. GIC is equally owned by all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and supports economic development in the region.
“We believe that the next phase of liberalization in the telecom sector supports the growth of MVNOs and we are thrilled to make this strategic investment in VMMEA,” said Mohamed Eissa, Head of Technology & Telecom Investments at GIC, in a statement from the Virgin Group.
“We look forward to working with the management team in VMMEA to support the further expansion of its existing operations as well as entering new markets across the region.”
On completion of the deal, GIC and the Virgin Group will be the two biggest shareholders in VMMEA, alongside investment firms such as ePlanet Capital, Dolphin International, NTEC and Millennium Private Equity.
Virgin Mobile entered into a partnership with Middle Eastern MVNO, Friendi Group, in June 2012 to set up VMMEA, subsequently commencing operations in South Africa. The company now has operations in Oman, Jordan, South Africa and in Saudi Arabia via an outsourced partnership.
The MVNO plans to roll out the brand further across the Middle East & Africa, according to today’s company statement.
“We intend to create a large regional mobile telecom player reaching more than 10 million customers,” said Virgin’s founder Richard Branson. “The investment by GIC is an important show of support by an important institutional investor for our ambitious plans.”
Mohamed Eissa, head of technology and telecom investments at GIC and Fahad Al-Nusef, VP for technology and telecom investments at GIC, will join the board of VMMEA.
TelecomFinance reported last October that Virgin Mobile was looking to raise US$90-100m from individual and private equity investors to finance its expansion into new markets, including in the Middle East and Africa.
