Monaco Telecom has sold its Algerian VSAT business Divona to local wireless broadband provider Smart Link Com for US$1.4m in cash and assumed debt.
Divona provides satellite broadband and communication services across Algeria and North Africa to…
Monaco Telecom has sold its Algerian VSAT business Divona to local wireless broadband provider Smart Link Com for US$1.4m in cash and assumed debt.
Divona provides satellite broadband and communication services across Algeria and North Africa to companies in the energy, mining, finance and telecoms sectors.
The company, which operates via a nationwide VSAT (very small aperture terminal) licence, generated 2012 profit before tax of US$3m before exceptional gains and US$8.8m after exceptional gains. Monaco estimates that Divona’s gross and net assets were US$14m and US$2m respectively.
The sale mirrors a similar transaction that Monaco Telecom agreed last year when it sold Afinis Communications to UK-based African satcoms services provider SkyVision Global Networks. Afinis provides VSAT services to francophone Africa, with offices in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Senegal.
Monaco is itself 55%-owned by UK-based telecommunications group Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), with the principality’s government owning the remainder.
In December 2012, CWC agreed to sell its Monaco & Islands division, which includes its holding in Monaco Telecom, to Bahraini telecoms incumbent Batelco for approximately US$680m. However, the Monaco government has not given its consent yet to Batelco taking over the controlling interest. The companies have until April 2014 to obtain the necessary regulatory approval.
