Etisalat says still working to complete Zain deal

UAE telecoms firm Etisalat said on Sunday it was still working to complete a "definitive transaction" to buy a stake in Zain for USD 12 billion, despite missing a January 15 due diligence deadline.

Etisalat said it had not made sufficient progress toward finalizing the deal by the deadline "due to unforeseen delays in Zain providing access to all relevant information". "The parties do continue to work towards the announcement of a definitive transaction," Etisalat said in a statement. Etisalat, the Gulf's second largest telecom group, had offered to buy a 46% stake of Zain for 1.7 dinars a share. The offer was made to one of Zain's major shareholders, Kuwaiti family conglomerate, the Kharafi Group. In October, Kharafi Group said it had enough approvals from shareholders to tender to Etisalat's bid, even though the deal is still dependent on the sale of Zain's assets in Saudi Arabia, for anti-trust reasons. Last week, CNBC Arabiya reported that Turkey's Cukurova Holding is in talks to buy 29.9% of Zain for USD 7.89 billion.