MANAMA: Bahrain’s Kalaam Telecom has acquired Kuwait’s Zajil Telecom to become one of the top three Internet service providers (ISPs) in the GCC.

The acquisition will create a combined entity with revenue of $100 million, with data centres in five countries, network points of presence (PoPs) in 25 countries, and a subsea and terrestrial cable network that connects three continents.

Zajil is one of Kuwait’s longest-established ISP and ICT services companies, with a customer portfolio that includes prominent enterprises and government institutions.

With this buyout, Kalaam has also become the only operator with ISP licences in Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Becoming the only private Bahraini telecom company to go regional in serving a broad base of enterprise, wholesale, and channel customers is a matter of pride for Kalaam Telecom said chairman Nezar Al Saie.

“The expansion of Kalaam also supports the creation of a regional digital ICT hub in Bahrain that will serve the wider Mena region,” he added.

The acquisition also adds prominent Gulf businessmen to Kalaam’s shareholder group.

According to Zajil Telecom chairman Mohammad Al Tuwaijri, “the combination of services and infrastructure brought together by the merger will result in the delivery of more advanced solutions.”

Zajil is a regional leader in Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) solutions – a technology that speeds up traffic flows.

Adding to the comments, Kalaam Telecom chief executive Veer Passi said the firm has now become “a full-stack one-stop, end-to-end solutions provider for the local and regional enterprise market and the international wholesale business”.

“With its terrestrial fibre cable system, KNOT (which spans 1,400km across GCC), and Zajil’s consortium ownership in EIG (Europe India Gateway, a 15,000km international fibre optic submarine cable system that links 12 countries across three continents, the combined group will be able to offer redundant, secure and fast access.

“The combined network will provide footprint in 25 countries in MENA, Europe, US and Asia with 53 fully owned PoPs to deliver all the product lines, and industry-specific solutions for the banking, oil and gas, retail, telecoms and transportation sectors,” added Mr Passi.

“Kalaam has been very well supported by Ahli United Bank (AUB) in its growth through its M&A journey which demonstrates AUB’s deep understanding and prioritisation of technology sector.”

avinash@gdn.com.bh

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