Saudi Telecom (STC) has agreed to fully acquire local push-to-talk mobile services provider Bravo from Kuwait-based Wataniya.
Wataniya is itself controlled by Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo.
Since 2005, Bravo has been in a build, operate, transfer (BOT)…
Saudi Telecom (STC) has agreed to fully acquire local push-to-talk mobile services provider Bravo from Kuwait-based Wataniya.
Wataniya is itself controlled by Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo.
Since 2005, Bravo has been in a build, operate, transfer (BOT) agreement with STC, which runs until 2020. In a notice to the Saudi bourse, STC said that Wataniya will pay SR244m (US$65m) in dues owed by Bravo to the Saudi operator.
Bravo, which uses the iDEN technology in the SMR-800 frequency band, mainly serves the construction as well as oil and gas industries. It reportedly has around 180,000 customers and revenues of US$46.9m in the first nine months of 2013.
Commenting on the rationale behind the acquisition, STC said that “as a standalone business [Bravo] was not a financially attractive proposition and required substantial investment for maintaining the quality of service”.
STC chairman Abdulaziz Alsugair stated that Bravo’s inclusion into the STC group will complement its enterprise offerings in Saudi market. The acquisition is expected to enable STC to extract synergies by bundled offerings and to significantly improve the quality of service to its customers, he said.
Alsugair added that the deal will enhance STC’s customer base by expanding its coverage in current and potential target segments such as in construction, real estate oil and gas and utilities.
Meanwhile in a separate statement, Ooredoo justified the sale saying that “Bravo’s specialised technology standard is no longer core to Ooredoo Group’s strategy”.
The transaction requires regulatory approval.
