Zain's board accepts offer for African assets

RELATED NEWS Zain confirms offer for African assets

The board of Kuwait's mobile telecoms firm Zain has accepted an offer to sell its African assets, excluding Sudan and Morocco, Al Arabiya TV reported on Sunday, citing sources.

The report did not specify the buyer.

On Sunday, Kuwait's bourse halted trading in Zain's shares after the firm said it had received an offer to sell some of its African assets. The halt came a day after reports India's Bharti Airtel had offered up to USD 10.7 billion for the assets.

A Zain spokesman declined to comment on the report.

A day after reports that Bharti Airtel had offered up to USD 10.7 billion for the assets, the Kuwaiti telecom group Zain had confirmed on Sunday morning that it had received an offer for some of its African assets. Zain's board and that of its largest shareholder, Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund KIA, held meetings on Sunday to review the offer, while the Kuwaiti bourse suspended trading in the company's shares.

Zain's confirmation of the offer, which would mark one of the biggest cross-border transactions in the Middle East in recent years, marks a turning point in the long-running sell-off saga concerning the third-biggest telecoms operator in the region.

"Zain said that it received an offer (for selling) Zain Africa, except for Sudan and Morocco," the firm said in a statement on the Kuwait bourse website.

KIA, which owns a 24.6% stake in Zain, met on Sunday to decide on an offer by Bharti Airtel for assets of the firm, Kuwaiti daily al-Rai said in an unsourced report.

Bharti has resumed its hunt for emerging market acquisitions after its planned USD 24 billion merger with South Africa's MTN failed in September, the second time a proposed deal between the two had collapsed in just over a year.

Trading in Zain's shares will remain halted until the firm's board makes a decision on the offer, the bourse said.

Shares in Zain have risen 23% since February 4 and rose 3.9% on Thursday, ahead of the Middle East weekend.

The statement did not provide any details about the offer.

A Zain spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

A Bharti spokesman declined to comment.