Emirates Telecom takes over Sudan’s Canar
January 7, 2008 (DUBAI) — Emirates Telecommunications Corp
Etisalat, which operates in 16 countries, did not say how much it paid for the additional 45 percent in Canar in a statement on the Abu Dhabi bourse Web site. Etisalat, previously held 37% stake in the Sudanese operator.
“Emirates Telecommunications Corporation has acquired an additional share capital equal to 45% in Canar…thus increasing the shareholding to 82%,” Etisalat’s Chief Financial Officer Salem Ali Al Sharhan said.
Like other Gulf Arab telecom firms, Etisalat has been hunting for foreign assets as it faces growing competition in its home market, where its monopoly was broken by du
“The company has been the most aggressive in the region in terms of expansion abroad,” said Wael Ziada, director of telecoms research at Cairo-based EFG-Hermes.
“What we’ve seen today is the continuation of a consolidation trend whereby the company raises its stakes in existing operations, but that does not preclude us seeing new greenfield acquisitions.”
Etisalat has been focusing its expansion on Africa because the continent has opportunities for growth, chief executive of Etisalat International Investments Jamal al-Jarwan said in a statement in September.
Chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran told Reuters in an interview in November the company was considering new investments of up to $5 billion in Africa.
In October, it took over Tanzania’s fourth operator Zanzibar Telecom Ltd and in September bought an additional 40 percent stake in a new telecom firm in Nigeria.
Last month, the firm said it would buy a 16 percent stake in PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk
The firm’s shares, up 49.58 percent last year, fell 0.21 percent in trading on Monday.
(Reuters/Dow Jones)