Etisalat confirms bid to buy 46% of Zain

UAE’s telecom service provider Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (etisalat) on Wednesday confirmed that it has offered to buy a stake in Kuwait’s mobile operator Zain.

“Etisalat has submitted a preliminary conditional offer to buy a stake in Zain,” Ahmed bin Ali, Group Senior Vice-President, Corporate Communications at etisalat, said in a statement.

Etisalat had offered 1.7 dinars per share for the stake, the Arabic language channel said. Zain shares rose to a four-month high after the report. In June, etisalat, the Gulf’s second-largest telecoms firm, said it had not made any proposal to buy a stake in Zain, after a newspaper report said the two were in talks. Zain offloaded its African assets earlier this year in a $9bn deal with India’s Bharti Airtel. Zain shares rose 7.9 per cent to 1.36 dinars after Wednesday’s report, its highest level since May 27, outperforming Kuwait’s index. Etisalat’s shares rose 0.9 per cent, slightly outperforming Abu Dhabi’s bourse.