Zain to sell Africa stake
THE Zain Group could sell its African interests in the next few days, industry sources have revealed.
By David MugabeM
THE Zain Group could sell its African interests in the next few days, industry sources have revealed.
Reports indicate that the transaction could fetch the group a cool $12b from a French firm.
This figure is a little more than the total asset value of the Zain Group in Africa.
But top Kampala sources explained that despite the “possibility of the deal being ripe,†there was no official communication from the Zain’s head office in Kuwait.
“I am not aware that we are selling because there is no formal communication. All I have seen is information from a blog,†said a top Zain official in Kampala.
Another official, however, divulged that there had been a lot of interest from prospective buyers wanting to take up major stakes in the several Zain’s African operations.
If the deal goes through, this will be the second transaction involving sale of the same company after Kuwait’s MTC bought Celtel in April 2005 for $3.4b and rebranded the company to Zain.
The former Celtel was the brainchild of Sudanese-born businessman, Mo Ibrahim.
Following the acquisition of Celtel International by the MTC Group and the subsequent rebranding to Zain, the telecom giant emerged as a major player in the continent’s telecommunications transformation.
THE Zain Group could sell its African interests in the next few days, industry sources have revealed.
Reports indicate that the transaction could fetch the group a cool $12b from a French firm.
This figure is a little more than the total asset value of the Zain Group in Africa.
But top Kampala sources explained that despite the “possibility of the deal being ripe,†there was no official communication from the Zain’s head office in Kuwait.
“I am not aware that we are selling because there is no formal communication. All I have seen is information from a blog,†said a top Zain official in Kampala.
Another official, however, divulged that there had been a lot of interest from prospective buyers wanting to take up major stakes in the several Zain’s African operations.
If the deal goes through, this will be the second transaction involving sale of the same company after Kuwait’s MTC bought Celtel in April 2005 for $3.4b and rebranded the company to Zain.
The former Celtel was the brainchild of Sudanese-born businessman, Mo Ibrahim.
Following the acquisition of Celtel International by the MTC Group and the subsequent rebranding to Zain, the telecom giant emerged as a major player in the continent’s telecommunications transformation.