France Telecom (FT) is proceeding with the purchase of a stake in Iraqi cellco Korek Telecom, after it was chosen as a preferred bidder over South Africa’s MTN, according to a report by Middle East business intelligence service MEED.
The GSM operator, based in the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, won a nationwide licence in 2007 and has proceeded to branch out from its northern homeland to cover central and southern regions of Iraq. Korek is Iraq’s third largest cellco by subscribers.
The MEED report adds that Korek, with a customer base approaching three million in a market with room for growth, is an attractive asset for the French group, which recently expanded in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region by purchasing a 40% stake in Morocco’s Meditel.
FT is looking to increase its territorial presence further via more acquisitions, with the overall aims of doubling its revenues and reaching 300 million subscribers worldwide. The deal, which is yet to be finalised, would also assist Korek’s further expansion plans with the investment of a global player, whilst also representing a cheaper option for FT than bidding for a new licence in Iraq and building a network from scratch.
Meanwhile, FT has recently established research and development labs in Amman and Cairo to create services and products specific to the Middle East market.
Providing a cautionary note, UAE-based Etisalat previously failed to negotiate a stake purchase in Korek, saying that the Iraqi firm demanded ‘too much for too little’ in talks with the Abu Dhabi operator more than two years ago.
Showing posts with label Meditel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meditel. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
FT 'Planning to Buy Meditel'
Reuters reports that France Telecom (Orange) is in ‘advanced’ talks with the owners of Morocco's second largest mobile operator Medi Telecom (Meditel) to acquire a 40% share in the company.
Moroccan business weekly Acutel wrote over the weekend, ‘It is official. The negotiations between the owners of Meditel, CDG and Finance.com, and Orange are at an advanced stage,’ and went on to speculate that the stake could be priced at around EUR650 million (USD849 million). Spain's Telefonica and Portugal Telecom last year sold their respective stakes of 32.2% each in Meditel to the operator's other shareholders, Moroccan private investment group Finance.com and state investment vehicle Caisse de Depots et de Gestion (CDG) for USD1.15 billion in total.
Whilst the domestic owners have declared they can run the company alone, they have also indicated their openness to a range of options including a stock market listing and a partnership with a new, major player strategic investor. In March 2010 it was rumoured that the UAE’s Etisalat had ‘agreed’ to acquire a 45% interest in Meditel, which offers cellular, broadband and fixed line services, but a deal did not materialise.
TeleGeography's GlobalComms Database notes that France Telecom sold its Moroccan ISP Maroc Connect (Wanadoo) in August 2004 to the CDG and ONA groups, before ONA bought out CDG in 2005; Maroc Connect became Wana, which launched the successful fixed-wireless and cellular brands Bayn and Inwi, along the way attracting a new foreign investor, Kuwait-based Zain Group.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Rotana To Supply Content To Meditel
Moroccan mobile operator Medi Telecom (Meditel) has signed a deal with Saudi Arabian broadcaster Rotana Media as part of a drive to attract more young subscribers with online entertainment content, Reuters reports.
Rotana, part of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's Kingdom Holding company, controls 85% of the music market among the Arab world's more than 300 million population and has 60% of its film distribution and production market, according to the article.
The partnership deal with Meditel includes all Rotana content, Rotana Digital Media Chairman Youssef Mugharbil told journalists, whilst the firm plans to strike similar deals with firms in the region and beyond if the venture proves successful.
Rotana, part of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's Kingdom Holding company, controls 85% of the music market among the Arab world's more than 300 million population and has 60% of its film distribution and production market, according to the article.
The partnership deal with Meditel includes all Rotana content, Rotana Digital Media Chairman Youssef Mugharbil told journalists, whilst the firm plans to strike similar deals with firms in the region and beyond if the venture proves successful.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Etisalat To Bid for Meditel as it Eyes Africa & Middle East
Emirates Telecommunications Corp said it would bid for a stake in Morocco's Meditel as it seeks acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa, adding asset prices were likely to fall further.
Emirates Telecom, known as Etisalat, would also continue to pursue the telecom license in Iran it was stripped of last week, its Chairman Mohammed Hassan Omran told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan.
"We are looking for opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, especially at this time there are some good assets," Omran told Reuters Financial Television. "Assets are becoming cheap ... we see them becoming more cheap in coming months."
Portugal Telecom has appointed Morgan Stanley to sell its 32 percent stake in Meditel, Morocco's second-largest telecoms company, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
"We are expecting Morocco ... We are participating in the bid for Morocco... Meditel and we are working hard for Syria and Lebanon," Omran said, without giving further details.
The telecom operator is facing stiffer competition in its home market the United Arab Emirates, the second-largest Arab economy, where some analysts expect job cuts and expected population declines could way on future earnings of Etisalat and rival du DU.DU.
"We are working hard to maintain that and even get it better," Omran said when asked if Etisalat was likely to be able to match a 4-percent rise in profit it achieved in the first quarter.
He said the UAE market is becoming more difficult because expatriates are leaving, but Etisalat expected growth in Saudi Arabia, where its affiliate Etihad Etisalat 7020.SE was doing "better than expected."
Etisalat Egypt, the third mobile phone operator in the North African country, was also performing "better than competitors," Omran said. Saudi Arabia is the most-populous Gulf Arab country while Egypt has the largest population in the Arab world.
Etisalat said in January it planned to invest up to $5 billion over five years in its Iranian operation after winning the country's third mobile telephone license.
But Iran said on May 11 it had granted a consortium led by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co the license instead because a group including Etisalat and Iran's Tamin Telecom "had not fulfilled its obligations.
"In Iran, we made the best bid. Our partner could not continue and that ended up disqualifying the consortium," Omran said. "We are evaluating the possibilities. It is the big market and it has a lot of potential. But it is complex. The game is not over for us in Iran."
-Reuters
Emirates Telecom, known as Etisalat, would also continue to pursue the telecom license in Iran it was stripped of last week, its Chairman Mohammed Hassan Omran told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan.
"We are looking for opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, especially at this time there are some good assets," Omran told Reuters Financial Television. "Assets are becoming cheap ... we see them becoming more cheap in coming months."
Portugal Telecom has appointed Morgan Stanley to sell its 32 percent stake in Meditel, Morocco's second-largest telecoms company, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
"We are expecting Morocco ... We are participating in the bid for Morocco... Meditel and we are working hard for Syria and Lebanon," Omran said, without giving further details.
The telecom operator is facing stiffer competition in its home market the United Arab Emirates, the second-largest Arab economy, where some analysts expect job cuts and expected population declines could way on future earnings of Etisalat and rival du DU.DU.
"We are working hard to maintain that and even get it better," Omran said when asked if Etisalat was likely to be able to match a 4-percent rise in profit it achieved in the first quarter.
He said the UAE market is becoming more difficult because expatriates are leaving, but Etisalat expected growth in Saudi Arabia, where its affiliate Etihad Etisalat 7020.SE was doing "better than expected."
Etisalat Egypt, the third mobile phone operator in the North African country, was also performing "better than competitors," Omran said. Saudi Arabia is the most-populous Gulf Arab country while Egypt has the largest population in the Arab world.
Etisalat said in January it planned to invest up to $5 billion over five years in its Iranian operation after winning the country's third mobile telephone license.
But Iran said on May 11 it had granted a consortium led by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co the license instead because a group including Etisalat and Iran's Tamin Telecom "had not fulfilled its obligations.
"In Iran, we made the best bid. Our partner could not continue and that ended up disqualifying the consortium," Omran said. "We are evaluating the possibilities. It is the big market and it has a lot of potential. But it is complex. The game is not over for us in Iran."
-Reuters
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