MANAMA: Bahrain’s telecommunications provider Batelco has announced that it has completed the sale of its 90 per cent shareholding in its Kuwait subsidiary, QualityNet General Trading and Contracting Company, to Kuwait Telecommunications Company (Viva).

The sale has been done as per the signed share purchase agreement (SPA) dated April 9, 2019, said a Batelco statement.

The full transfer of shares has been completed with the total transaction value of 25.5 million Kuwaiti dinars ($83.84m).

Batelco chairman Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, who confirmed the finalisation of the sale, said that Batelco carries out strategic reviews annually on its assets in order to crystallise value by rationalising and optimising its current portfolio of assets.

“The sale of QualityNet for KD25.5m provides peak valuation for Batelco’s shareholders and allows us to focus on redeployment of funds to a number of areas including acquiring synergistic growth opportunities in existing markets, funding the expansion of our current operations into selected adjacent businesses and funding investments in high growth digital adjacencies,” Shaikh Abdulla said.

Batelco chief executive of international investments Ihab Hinnawi said QualityNet, one of Batelco’s earliest overseas acquisitions, has been a very strong asset for Batelco for more than 20 years and has contributed significantly in providing value creation for shareholders.

“The telecommunication industry in Kuwait has been going through a transformational phase in recent years with a focus on consolidation of fixed, mobile and broadband providers. QualityNet is the first, largest and leading ISP in Kuwait, and this deal supports the best strategic interest of all parties.”

“In line with our strategic objectives, developed to create the best value for our shareholders, the sale of QualityNet comes at the right time and supports our investment plans for Bahrain and all our operations footprints,” he added.

“Going forward, we will continue to assess all our investments and explore a number of opportunities with a view to strengthening our portfolio and capabilities,” Mr Hinnawi added.

 

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