Shareholders to reap dividends from Zain sale

Zain’s shareholders will receive a large bulk of the proceeds from the sale of its African assets to India’s Bharti Airtel.
The Kuwaiti operator said in a statement that the two companies are ‘proceeding to completion’ and that US$4bn of the proceeds…

Zain’s shareholders will receive a large bulk of the proceeds from the sale of its African assets to India’s Bharti Airtel.

The Kuwaiti operator said in a statement that the two companies are ‘proceeding to completion’ and that US$4bn of the proceeds would be used to repay a revolving credit facility while the rest would be used for other corporate matters.

Bharti is acquiring Zain’s operations in 15 African countries at an enterprise value of US$10.7bn with US$9bn to be paid in cash. This will leave Zain with around US$5bn to place with dividends reportedly viewed as a higher priority than acquisitions in the short term. However, Zain is considering further investments in the Middle East should suitable opportunities arrive.