Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s bid to join with a partner to buy Zain’s holding in its Saudi unit may clear the way for Etisalat’s $12 billion offer for a majority stake in Kuwait’s biggest phone operator.
Kingdom Holding Co. (KINGDOM), controlled by Saudi Prince Alwaleed, and Bahrain Telecommunications Co. offered $950 million for the 25 percent stake held by Zain, as Mobile Telecommunication Co. is known, in Zain Saudi Arabia, the partners said today in a statement. The non-binding offer doesn’t include the $3.8 billion of Zain Saudi’s debt and has received preliminary acceptance by the board of Zain Kuwait, the statement said.
“The bid will lead to increased optimism of a deal finally happening between Etisalat and Zain,” said Julian Bruce, director of equity sales at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE in Dubai.
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