The venture capital arm of the Abu Dhabi Group has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Arvato Middle East Sales (AMES), the regional affiliate of Germany’s Bertelsmann Arvato Mobile Middle East Group.

The deal is part of Abu Dhabi Group’s strategy to tap into the high growth telecommunications industry. AMES has positioned itself to bring to the regional market a full range of digital media services, designed to dominate the areas of Mobile and PC entertainment in the Middle East, Africa, the Subcontinent and selected Pacific Rim countries, a statement said.

The group’s present mobile businesses operate under the umbrella of Warid Telecom International, while its WiMax business in Pakistan is being launched by its subsidiary, Wateen Telecom.

Commenting on the acquisition, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, chairman of Warid Telecom, said: “Our vision is to establish ourselves as market leaders wherever we operate. We form alliances to help realise our main objective, which is to ensure that our customers continue to benefit from the innovation and quality we provide. We have had a long relationship with the Bertelsmann Group, and we believe that this deal will further enhance our objectives.”

Bertelsmann is the world’s third largest media company, generating revenues of $26 billion in 2006. In recent years, the company has made significant investments in building digital media distribution platforms. AMES aims to use these platforms to build a digital entertainment business capable of servicing more than 200 million customers across the region and will provide access to world class digital entertainment for mobile phones, PCs and set top boxes.    

Hartmut Ostrowski, Arvato’s CEO and chairman, and appointed Bertelsmann CEO as of 2008, said: “At Bertelsmann, we prefer to invest alongside those with whom we have good relationships and who have strong regional business credentials. We have for some time wanted to work with Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, and are very excited that this opportunity has arisen.”

Bashir Tahir, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Group, added: “Content and digital entertainment services are what operators need to drive revenues. With our GSM and WiMax businesses, we want to offer a bespoke customer experience and we know that is only possible when we differentiate ourselves. Bertelsmann’s AMES business provides us with a digital media distribution platform which will be an essential component of our strategy to offer converged services through our companies.”

Bernhard Ribbrock, chief executive of Arvato Mobile, said: “Globally, media companies are working closely with telecom operators to bring exciting new ventures to market. Bertelsmann aims to lead the new explosion in media services and believes that relationships with investors and partners like the Abu Dhabi Group and Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, who share our vision of convergence, are critical to achieving this end.” – TradeArabia News Service