Etisalat & Korek still in talk for stake sale (Iraq)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Talks between Iraqi mobile network, Korek Telecom and Etisalat are still continuing for the sale of stake of Korek Telecom to UAE based Etisalat. The size of the stake and its valuation has still not being decided resulting in the continuation of the talks.
According to Korek’s vice president, Hameed Abdullah Aqrawi, Korek Telecom and Emirates Telecommunications Corporation are still in negotiations concerning the Emirates Company buying a share in Korek which has continued for a long time since they started in February 2008 but both the companies expect to finish soon.
25 percent of Korek shares will still be traded on the Iraqi Stock Exchange which is in line with a previous agreement with the government.
Zain, Asiacell and Korek Telecom are the three operators in the country and Orascom could have been the fourth one but failed to get an operating license in the last round of auctions and had tried to set up a joint venture with Korek Telecom but that fell apart.
Etisalat inches closer to Korek acquisition (Iraq)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The long-anticipated acquisition of a majority stake in Iraqi mobile network operator; Korek Telecom by the UAE based Etisalat seems to be on the verge of completion. The talk between the two companies has been going on since September 2008.
Zain, Asiacell and Korek Telecom are the three operators in the country. Orascom owned the Iraqna network, but failed to get an operating license in the last round of auctions and had tried to set up a joint venture with Korek Telecom but that fell apart. Iraqna was later sold to Zain.
Etisalat may seek to raise funding via bonds to expand into up to six additional markets, including a possible acquisition of Orascom Telecom’s troubled Algerian subsidiary, Djezzy.
Etisalat mulling over Iraq’s telecom option, to decide by year en
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The second-largest Arab telecom operator by market value, Emirates Telecommunications Corp, or Etisalat said that it will decide whether to bid for a licence or buy a stake in a local player in Iraq, by the end of 2009.
The company is holding talks with Korek Telecom of Iraq, to acquire 51% stake in the company. Etisalat is also planning to bid for fourth mobile telecom license in Iraq after the government announced plans earlier this year to launch a new auction.
Etisalat is waiting to hear from the Libyan authorities about the company’s bid for a license in the region besides, bidding for third mobile license to be launched by the Syrian government.
The company is also keeping a close eye on Iran’s situation where the Abu Dhabi-based company along with a consortium won an international tender for Iran’s third mobile phone license in 2009. However, the deal later fell through.
MTC Atheer passes three million mark
MTC Atheer, one of the three nationwide cellcos operators in Iraq, has announced that it has signed up over three million subscribers since first launching commercial operations in March 2004. In a statement Ali Dahwi, the firm’s chief executive, said that USD430 million had been invested in the Iraqi market in that time, and further money would be injected in the future to expand MTC’s infrastructure in the north. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database the three nationwide operators, MTC Atheer, Asia-Cell and Iraqna (Orascom Telecom Iraq), had a 30% market share each, with the remainder split between Kurdistan operators Sana Tel and Korek Telecom.
Source- telegeography Wireless Mobile Telecom
