Bahrain Telecommunications - better known as Batelco - has said that it would be interested in bidding for Zain's Saudi Arabian subsidiary if an offer from UAE based Etisalat to buy a majority stake in the parent company is accepted by the shareholders.
Batelco said its interest in the Zain Saudi Arabia was "very conditional" and depended on a number of factors. The stake is currently valued at around US $751 million.
"It is natural that should the opportunity be presented to invest further in (Saudi Arabia), our M&A team will always explore it," Batelco's Chief Executive Peter Kaliaropoulos said in a statement sent to the Reutersnews agency. "However, such an interest is very conditional."
Batelco is also a 15% shareholder in a struggling landline operator in Saudi Arabia, Etihad Atheeb Telecom, and the synergies between the mobile and landline networks could help the two firms to cut costs significantly.
There had been suggestions over the weekend that Qatar Telecom (Qtel) might bid for the Saudi assets, but it later said that it wasn't interested.
On the web: Reuters
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