TeliaSonera to acquire 49 percent stake in Kcell (Europe, Asia)

On 12.23.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telecom operator TeliaSonera will acquire a 49 percent stake in Kcell for US$ 1.5 billion. According to company reports, the operator will sell 25 percent of the shares minus one share in Kcell in an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012.

Company reports reveal, Tero Kivisaari, President, TeliaSonera Eurasia, this agreement is another step in the execution of their strategy of increasing ownership in core holdings. Through this transaction TeliaSonera increases its ownership in Kcell, a company where they already have management and operational control. Kcell is a clear market leader in Kazakhstan, the largest market in Central Asia, and has shown remarkable growth over the years. The fact that part of the company will be sold in an IPO will make it even more attractive.

The company hopes to finalize the agreement, subject to regulatory approvals by the first quarter of 2012.

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Mobile operators in Iraq prepare for the IPO process (Iraq)

On 11.08.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission has reportedly asked the country’s three operators, Zain Iraq, Asiacell and Korek to offer a quarter of their shares on the Iraq Stock Exchange by August 2012. As per industry sources, the IPO (Initial Public Offering) process could raise over US$ 3 billion for the three operators and if successful, could also double the size of the country’s stock market to $ 8 billion.

However, sources claim that concerns have been raised over the ability of the domestic investors to carry the expected size of the flotation given the challenging capital markets elsewhere in the world. According to reports, in an attempt to increase the shareholder base, banks are considering bringing in international investors along with the domestic investors.

As per sources, the banks chosen for the process include Citigroup, BNP Paribas and NBK for Zain Iraq; HSBC and Morgan Stanley for Asiacell while Korek is yet to finalise its advisors for the deal.

 

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Slovakia to sell Slovak Telekom stake in tender or IPO

On 03.24.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Slovakia’s Finance Minister, Ivan Miklos has stated that the country will sell its minority stake in Slovak Telekom in an international tender or an initial public offering.

According to him, a potential IPO could take place on the Prague, Warsaw and Bratislava stock exchanges.

He added that the privatization of the country’s telecommunication services provider could be completed within 18 months.

Deutsche Telekom already has a 51% stake in the Slovak firm.

 

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Ukrainian government sells Ukrtelecom for $1.3 bn

On 03.16.11, In Mobile, By Editor

­The Ukrainian government has sold the state-owned telecoms network, Ukrtelecom for US$1.3 billion to an Austrian private equity firm.

The sale is the privatization deal made so far by the government of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Earlier, Peter Goldscheider, one of EPIC’s managing partners, commented that this is a long-term investment and that his Vienna-based privatization and investment company potentially plans to attract strategic investors and launch the initial public offering (IPO). It has been also reported that along with the price of the agreement, the buyer adopted responsibility to repay Ukrtelecom’s loans (approx. US$160 million) and carry out a number of investment commitments.

As of today, Ukrtelecom controls about 80% of Ukraine’s fixed-line market and has a small mobile business Utel providing services to more than 630,000 customers. Currently, Ukrtelecom possesses a license to provide 3G services. In addition, Ukrtelecom has created the most powerful high-capacity national data trunk network in Ukraine based on the modern DWDM technology, with 4 GBits/sec transfer capacity.

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Hutchison Port to raise $5.4 bn in Singapore listing

On 03.14.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Hutchison Port Holdings Trust is reportedly planning to raise US$5.4 billion in a Singapore listing, making it the biggest initial public offering (IPO) in Southeast Asia.

Owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, the trust will own port assets in Hong Kong and mainland China under Li’s Hutchison Whampoa.

Cornerstone investors include Capital Research & Management, Paulson & Co and Lone Pine Capital who will invest US$634 million, US$350 million and US$186 million in the IPO, respectively.

The last offering of this scale in Singapore was Singapore Telecommunications, which raised US$4 billion in 1993. Hutchison, which also operates the Watson’s drugstore chain as well property and telecom assets, is listing its port assets in Singapore because trusts cannot be listed in Hong Kong.

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Qtel reports record 2010 revenue of US$7.5 billion

On 03.02.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) announced that 2010 full year Group revenue increased 13.1% to end 2010 at QAR27.2 billion (US$7.47 billion), as the Group’s consolidated customer base reached 74.1 million (FY 2009: 60.4 million).

Distributable earnings for 2010 including profits from the Nawras IPO taken directly to retained earnings increased by 21.3% to QAR3.4 billion (US$927.5 million). Earnings per Share (EPS) for 2010 grew 2.2% to QAR 19.69.

As part of the Group’s diversification strategy, Qtel has maintained solid operational and financial progress, successfully balancing the management of competitive pressure to maintain market share in mature markets with the ongoing development of operations in growth markets.

Key highlights of the year include the roll-out of Fibre-to-the-Home in Qatar, the successful implementation of a value-driven strategy by Indosat in Indonesia, strong revenue growth in Algeria leading to a first annual net profit for Nedjma, the successful defence of market leadership position in Tunisia, the launch of fixed line and home broadband services by Nawras in Oman and continued subscriber growth for Asiacell in Iraq.

The Group also successfully launched IPOs in Oman and Palestine, saw strong support for a 10-year Bond for Indosat and for the Qtel Group’s bond sale, which was more than ten times oversubscribed.

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) provides a full range of telecommunications services in Qatar and across its presence in 17 countries. Our vision is to be among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020 through expansion in both the MENA region and South East Asia.

 

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Tunisia suspend plans to launch IPO

On 02.03.11, In Mobile, By Editor

The communications minister of Tunisia states that it has suspended plans to launch an initial public offering for state-owned Tunisie Telecom after protests against the planned sale.

According to Secretary of State for Communication Technologies Sami Zaoui, a final decision would be taken in consultation with Tunisia’s strategic partners within days over whether to go ahead with the IPO.

Tunisia’s government holds a 65% stake in Tunisie Telecom, with the rest held jointly by Dubai’s TECOM Investments and Dubai Investment Group. It had planned to list the company on both Tunis and Paris stock exchanges in what would have been the first offering by a Tunisian company on a European bourse.

Tunisia has had two changes of government since former president Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali was driven out by popular revolt on Jan. 14. Many officials have been replaced, leaving plans for the IPO in limbo.

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Tunisie Telecom forced to delay its initial public offering (Tunisia)

On 01.20.11, In Mobile, By Editor

State-owned telecoms operator Tunisie Telecom (TT) may not be able to go ahead with an investor road show for its planned listing in Paris and Tunis due to the unstable political situation in the country.TT had been expected to hold investor meetings in London, Paris and Switzerland in the coming week.

According to Daniel Broby, chief investment officer at Silk Invest, the state of emergency and departure of the president will clearly delay the Tunisie Telecom IPO. The advisers to the IPO will, in our opinion, have to err on the side of caution and delay to the second quarter or beyond.’ As it stands, Tunisia’s government holds a 65% stake of TT, with the rest held jointly by Dubai’s TECOM Investments and Dubai Investment Group (DIG).

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Axiom Telecom calls off IPO (Dubai)

On 12.07.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Dubai-based mobile-phone distributor, Axiom Telecom has canceled its initial public offering of shares and listing on the Nasdaq Dubai because of liquidity and market concerns.

According to the company, while there were sufficient orders to fully cover the IPO book at the price range, primarily due to demand from high quality international investors in Europe and the U.S; there were widespread concerns about market conditions and liquidity. The board has therefore decided to withdraw the offer at this juncture to protect current and future shareholders of Axiom.

The Axiom IPO would have been the first in the United Arab Emirates in about two years.

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Wataniya Mobile IPO subscription 1.5 times oversubscribed

On 12.06.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Wataniya Palestine Mobile Telecommunications Public Shareholding Company, the second Palestinian mobile phone operator, announced that subscription for its Initial Public Offering of shares had successfully closed.

The offer is at least 1.5x oversubscribed with strong demand from retail investors in Palestine and a broad base of international institutional investors predominantly from Europe and the Middle East. A formal announcement on subscription levels will be made once the subscription has been audited in-line with regulatory requirements.

Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, Chairman of Wataniya Mobile, commented: Today’s announcement is a significant moment in Wataniya Mobile’s history. The fantastic support, which we have seen from Palestinian investors and from Arab and international investors, provide us with a firm foundation for our future as a listed company.”

Dr. Bassam Hannoun, Chief Executive Officer of Wataniya Mobile said: The IPO saw high levels of demand in Palestine and beyond, which has resulted in the offer being oversubscribed. The level of interest from investors is an endorsement of the growth opportunity Wataniya Mobile represents. We are particularly proud that so many Palestinians have chosen to share in our future success.”

The key details of the Offer were as follows:

• The Offer comprised 38.7 million new shares, representing 15% of the Company’s authorized share capital
• The shares were offered at a fixed offer price of US$1.30 per share
• Proceeds raised in the Offer will be used for general business and operational purposes, and to assist the funding of the balance of fees payable under the Company’s operating license
• Based on the Offer Price, the market capitalization of the company is expected to be approximately US$335.4 million
• An announcement on final allocations is expected in mid-December, with the listing on the Palestine Exchange in early January 2011

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