The Algerian government may decide to acquire a controlling stake in Wataniya-owned mobile operator Ndjema.
The country’s finance minister, Karim Djoudi, was quoted by Algeria’s APS news agency as saying that Algeria might exercise its right of…
The Algerian government may decide to acquire a controlling stake in Wataniya-owned mobile operator Ndjema.
The country’s finance minister, Karim Djoudi, was quoted by Algeria’s APS news agency as saying that Algeria might exercise its right of first refusal to buy the asset if Qatar Telecom (Qtel) goes ahead with its buyout of Kuwait’s Wataniya.
In March 2007, Qtel acquired a 51% stake in Wataniya for US$3.7bn and, at the same time, took control of 80% of Nedjma , which is also known as Wataniya Telecom Algerie. The balance is being held by Kuwaiti investment firm Kipco.
Qtel has already received the Kuwaiti regulator’s approval for a US$2.2bn offer to buy the remaining stake in Wataniya it does not already own. If successful, this transaction would give Qtel full control of Nedjma, the smallest of the three mobile operators in the country.
But under Algeria’s pre-emption right, the government is allowed to take a majority stake in foreign businesses in the country following a share sale.
This potential new imbroglio echoes the Djezzy dispute that is still ongoing. In April 2011, Russia’s VimpelCom acquired a majority stake in Egypt’s Orascom Telecom and its Algerian mobile subsidiary Djezzy, as part of its merger with Wind Telecom.
However, before the takeover was completed, Algeria announced plans to nationalise Djezzy. This year, VimpelCom announced it would sell a majority stake in Djezzy to Algeria, subject to agreement on price. The transaction has yet to be completed.
