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Batelco sells stake in Indian mobile operator
10 February 2012
Bahraini operator has signed deal to sell the 42.7% equity it owns in India’s STel for $174.5m
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Batelco
STel
India
Sky City
Batelco is to sell its shareholding in Indian mobile operator STel to its Indian partner Sky City Foundation, largely because of the recent 2G scandal in India. The agreed time frame for completion of the sale is the end of October 2012.
Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa, CEO of Batelco, said that a Batelco subsidiary would sell its 42.7% share for $174.5 million to “to its Indian partner, Sky City Foundation”. The Batelco unit acquired equity in STel via two transactions in May and June 2009 for a total of $174.5 million.
Shaikh Mohamed said: “As Batelco continues to grow and diversify its operations, we remain interested in other investment opportunities for the Batelco Group that will enable us to participate in the Indian telecom market. We are actively exploring all options in this respect over the coming months.” GTB
Further reading from Global Telecoms Business:
New 2G auction after India cancels licences 02 Feb 2012
Batelco rolls out triple-play network 03 Jan 2012
Batelco acquires 3G licence in Jordan 25 Jan 2012
Batelco to sell towers to fund acquisitions 06 Dec 2011
Batelco 'plans to sell' Indian stake 08 Sep 2011
Indian mobile start-up STel raises $430m 09 Nov 2009