Incumbent Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has received the approval from Kuwaiti regulators for a US$2.2bn offer to buy the remaining 47.5% stake in Wataniya Telecom it does not already own.
Qtel said following approval from the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority it…
Incumbent Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has received the approval from Kuwaiti regulators for a US$2.2bn offer to buy the remaining 47.5% stake in Wataniya Telecom it does not already own.
Qtel said following approval from the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority it would now launch a tender offer for the remainder of the shares in the Kuwaiti operator. Qtel currently owns 52.5% of Wataniya.
In late June trading in Wataniya shares had been suspended by the Capital Markets Authority of Kuwait while the regulator examined Qtel’s intention to acquire the outstanding shares.
Qtel is said to be advised by Barclays Capital and the investment banking division of National Bank of Kuwait.
Qtel offers to pay KD2.60 (US$9.19) for each of the outstanding 239,391,053 shares. The Qatari firm said the offer price represents a premium of 25.6% on the volume weighted average closing price of the stock in the two weeks leading up to 21 June and a 20.8% premium on the previous six months.
Wataniya’s board will now review the offer and provide a recommendation to its shareholders.
“Wataniya Telecom has enjoyed significant growth over the course of the last few years. However, in line with the increasing maturity of the markets in which it operates, the company’s investment profile is changing,” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, chairman of the Qtel Group.
“Increased competition and pressures on the industry from new entrants as well as incumbents will most likely erode value over time and require increasingly dynamic responses,” he said.
Today’s deal is the second significant transaction by Qtel this year. In June, Qtel had decided to offer US$1.47bn to double its stake in Iraqi mobile operator Asiacell to 60%.
Qtel bought its current stake in Wataniya in 2007 for about US$3.7bn.
