Etisalat updates proposal to acquire Zain shares

UAE’s telecom giant Etisalat has updated its proposal to acquire certain shares in Mobile Telecommunications Company (Zain) to provide that the offer is binding subject to a number of conditions, the company has announced.

The updated proposal of 1.7 Kuwaiti dinars per share is subject to a number of conditions. The number of shares to be acquired will represent 51 per cent of Zain's total issued share capital and voting rights (excluding shares held in treasury but including all shares which may be issued pursuant to the exercise of any options).

Etisalat’s board has agreed to submit a conditional offer through AlKhair National for Stock and Real Estate Company, valued at 1.7 Kuwaiti dinars per share to purchase 51 per cent of Zain’s total issued share capital. Etisalat and Alkhair have agreed to enter into an exclusive discussion for a limited period of time.

"In addition, our proposal will terminate unless the parties have entered into definitive transaction documents by 15 January 2011, " Etisalat Chairman Mohammed Omran said in a statement.

He added, "It is expected that our due diligence and other work required to reach definitive agreements, if successful, would take a number of weeks and, if signed, the transaction is unlikely to close before the end of first quarter of 2011."

Based upon preliminary studies, the Etisalat-Zain deal provides excellent integration into Etisalat's operations, taking into consideration that Zain's geographic footprint complements that of Etisalat to a large extent. These are the markets of Sudan, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon and Morocco.