Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has signed an agreement for its subsidiary Wataniya to increase its stake in Tunisiana, Tunisia's leading telecom operator, to 75 per cent.

Under the shareholders’ agreement signed today, Princesse Holding, a Tunisian diversified holding company, is taking up 25 per cent of Tunisiana’s shares and its chairman, Mohamed Sakher Al Materi, will become the new chairman of Tunisiana.

Since the announcement of the purchase agreement in November, Qtel and its partners have worked closely with the Tunisian authorities to implement the partnership.

“The Qtel Group has a successful history of working with trusted local partners, and we are delighted to have entered into partnership with the Princesse Holding consortium, one of Tunisia’s leading groups,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, chairman of both Qtel and Wataniya.

As previously disclosed, the stock was acquired for $1.2 billion. Under the terms of the agreement with the Princesse Holding consortium, Wataniya’s direct holding in Tunisiana increases to 75 per cent with the Princesse Holding consortium holding the remaining 25 per cent. Wataniya will finance its portion of the transaction with a mixture of existing cash and debt.

“By further increasing our shareholding in Tunisiana, which has already earned a strong market position , we will be able to ensure that the company advances to the next stage of development, delivering additional products and services for its customers, as well as benefits for all Qtel Group's stakeholders,” he added.

With the completion of the agreement with Orascom Telecom, the Qtel Group will now be able to fully consolidate Tunisiana results in 2011, increasing its revenue and Ebitda contribution to total group results to approximately 10 per cent.-TradeArabia News Service