MUSCAT: Oman Telecommunication Company (Omantel) said on Monday it had agreed to buy a 12 per cent stake in Kuwaiti telecommunications firm Zain in a deal that will more than double its stake.
The stake is worth about $946 million based on Zain’s current market value, Thomson Reuters data showed. In August, Omantel purchased a 9.84 per cent stake in Zain for $846 million, saying the transaction was part of a strategy launched to diversify its investment and market position in the region.
On Monday, Omantel said it had signed a non-binding letter of intent with Kuwait-based Al Khair, an investment vehicle of Kuwait’s Al Kharafi merchant family, to purchase its 12 per cent stake in Zain.
Al Khair is studying and evaluating the offer, the statement said, without providing the price. The biggest shareholder in Zain is the Kuwait Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund with over 24 per cent, Thomson Reuters data showed. Omantel shares surged ahead by 1.82 per cent to OMR1.395 amid 1.65 million shares changing hand on the Muscat Securities Market.
