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The UAE telecoms operator e&, formerly known as Etisalat, has completed forming a joint venture (JV) with the South Korea's Bespin Global to create a new company.
E& invested $60 million in Bespin Global in exchange for a stake of about 10%, the telecoms operator said in a regulatory disclosure on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Friday.
The JV will be accounted for as a subsidiary of e& effective from May 2023, it added.
It will be 65% owned by e& enterprise and 35% by Bespin Global and will provide public cloud services for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Pakistan.
Bespin Global is one of the fastest growing cloud managed service providers serving over 1,700 customers from its locations in South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the US.
The acquisition is in line with the $57 billion telecoms group's strategic plans to diversify operations and extend its reach globally. Last month, it signed a binding agreement with Uber Technologies Inc to invest $400 million in exchange for a majority stake in Careem's super-app business.
Earlier this year, it became the largest shareholder in Vodafone Group after boosting its holdings to 14%.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
