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DEAL SIGNED WITH ALGHANIM

Batelco acquires Kuwait's top fixed data company

Manama, April 9, 2014

Bahrain's Batelco Group said it has reached an agreement with Ali Alghanim & Sons General Trading and Contracting Company to acquire a 46 per cent shareholding in Quality Net, a leading fixed data communications and internet services provider in Kuwait.

A leading regional telecommunications group with operations across 14 countries, Batelco said it had already bought 44 per cent of the company's stake from Alghanim earlier. With this move, Batelco Group has increased its equity stake in Quality Net to 90 per cent.

The Bahrain telco giant had announced in February that it had entered into a share purchase agreement with the Alghanims for buying their shareholding in Quality Net.

Batelco Group chairman Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and the Alghanims representative and Quality Net chairman Khalid Ali Alghanim also signed the share purchase agreement in this regard.

After signing the deal, Shaikh Hamad had said a part of the Batelco Group’s growth strategy was portfolio optimisation and that topping up existing investments such as Quality Net was consistent with such strategy.

“The acquisition provides the right kind of fit for the Group to enhance future value of its international operating companies by realising cost efficiencies and further telecom upside opportunities,” he remarked.

“Over the past 15-years Quality Net has developed a competent team of employees led by experienced executives who thrive on creating a reliable service for its customers. We have plans to work very closely with Quality Net’s management to implement a number of strategic initiatives in order to realise the benefits of the acquisition by way of protecting and enhancing shareholder value,” added Shaikh Hamad.

According to him, Batelco Group plans to continue its international expansion drive through targeted acquisitions of other operators and optimisation of its existing portfolio.

Kuwait-based Quality Net remains the clear market leader in the fixed data communications and internet services industry in the country.

In 2013, it maintained market share and position delivering steady results and ending the year with over 40,000 customers. In recent years, Quality Net has launched global managed services in partnership with global players to serve corporate and multi-national companies.

Its service portfolio also includes structured cabling, cloud and IT security services for meeting the growing demand from corporate clients, small to medium enterprises, and shopping malls.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Batelco | Kuwait | Quality Net |

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