Avaya announced it was selected to acquire Nortel Enterprise Solutions for US$900 million in proceeds to Nortel and an additional pool of US$15 million reserved for an employee retention programme.

The announcement follows the completion of an auction, and the final transaction is subject to court and customary regulatory approvals in Canada and the US.

“Our successful bid brings us closer to adding Nortel and its complementary channel, portfolio, research and development, and global presence to Avaya,” said Kevin Kennedy, president and CEO, Avaya. “We believe the acquisition brings inherent value to both organisations’ customers, employees and partners, and we look forward to its successful conclusion.”

Leading investors in Zain Group have signed an agreement with a Malaysian-Indian consortium for the sale of a 46 per cent stake in the Kuwait mobile operator. The consortium consists of Malaysia’s Al-Bukhari Group and India’s Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), India’s largest communications service provider, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. and Vavasi Group.

Bader Al-Khorafi, a top executive of Kuwait’s Al-Khorafi Group, the largest private shareholder in Zain, told a press conference earlier in the month that the sale would be carried out within four months. He said the value of the sale, expected to be around US$14 billion, would be paid in one time in according with Kuwait Stock Exchange rules. Kuwait’s National Investments Co. is arranging the deal on behalf of the Kuwaiti investors, he said

The sale of the stock is set for a price of KWD 2 (US$ 7.10) per share, representing a premium of around 45 per cent.

The government owns the largest stake in Zain, amounting to 24.6 per cent. The 46 percent of shares would give buyers a controlling stake in Zain since 10 percent of the shares are held by the board of directors in the form of treasury shares, which do not enjoy voting rights.

Farid Arifuddin, managing director of Vavasi Telegence, which is part of India’s Vavasi Group, said the new shareholders did not plan to offload the African operations. “The consortium will not sell its African assets,” a Vavasi official said. “Our plan is to consolidate networks further and roll out larger networks and cover greater markets… It’s not to sell for sure,” he said at a news conference.

Do you know this guy? He uses an MMS barcode as a boarding pass to check-in, uses his mobile to remotely access his PC at home while he is away on business, does mobile banking but does not have a real world bank account, and uses his mobile GPS to find his way around a city he has never been to before. Who is this guy? He is the digital consumer of today and he is not all Generation Y either. This guy is everywhere, claims Abdul Karim, strategy director of Luciola DDB

Abdul Karim suggests that Baby Boomers are embracing technology 20 times faster than the younger generation and thus the presence of technophobes is set to diminish over time

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Zain Group shareholders accounting for 46 per cent of the mobile operator’s stock are reported to have reached a preliminary agreement in a deal rumoured to be worth about US$15 billion. CEO Saad Al Barrak said that the executive management of Zain was not driving the process forward; rather it was being led by shareholders including the family-owned conglomerate the Kharafi Group.

An Asian investor is said to be looking to pay as much as KWD 2 (US$7.10) per share, which would represent a 45 per cent premium to the share price at the end of play September 8.

Kharafi Group holds around 11 per cent of Zain, and is understood to be seeking cash to fund other areas of the business. Earlier reports linking the Zain stake sale to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) have been denied.

This development follows a decision ratified earlier this month whereby Zain shareholders agreed to cancel articles that limited individual ownership to two percent of the company’s capital and restricted public shareholding companies to holding no more than five percent. This move paved the way for Zain shareholders to offer their stakes to an interested bidder/s.

Should Zain shareholders successfully sell their shares, it would be a situation akin to the 2007 sale of Wataniya Telecom to Qatar Telecom, when 24.9 per cent Wataniya Telecom shareholder KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company Holding) formed a consortium of shareholders holding a total of 51 per cent of the operator’s capital and sold it to Qtel. Wataniya International CEO at the time, Ahmad Haleem, recalled how he was notified of the deal by KIPCO chairman Faisal Al-Ayyar after the negotiations had already gotten underway.

Three new telecom companies are to commence operations in the not-too-distant future, according to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). The firms were licensed in the past 12 months.

The entry of the additional three players would bring to eight the number of licensed telecom operators in the country with, Zain, MTN, Uganda Telecom, Orange and Warid already in operation. Patrick Masambu, the UCC executive director, confirmed the entry of the new players, but did not disclose their names.

The population in Uganda at the end of Q109 stood at around 30 million people, with a mobile penetration level of 27 per cent.