Zain investors prepare to sell big stake

Big shareholders in Zain, Kuwait’s largest telecommunications operator, are preparing to sell a 46 per cent stake in the company for about $13.7bn in what could be one of the largest financial transactions on record in the Gulf.

A company controlled by the Kharafi Group, one of the main shareholders of Zain and one of the Middle East’s wealthiest families, said on Monday that it was considering a sale of 46 per cent of Zain for 2 dinars a share.

“One of our clients, which owns a portfolio run by Al-Khair National Co. for Stocks and Real Estate, and others, has informed National Investments that it is about to decide on selling” 46 per cent of Zain, National Investments said in a statement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website on Monday.