The UAE’s Etisalat has confirmed it has submitted a bid to acquire a 46 per cent stake in the recently downsized Arab mobile operator Zain Group. Should the deal go through, as analysts and market commentators expect it shall, the acquisition will represent the final stage of the decline of Zain from leading pan-Arab/African operator in early 2009, to investment opportunity with little future as a standalone operation.

Etisalat said it had made a bid amounting to KWD 1.7 (US$5.96) a share for a 46 per cent stake in Zain, valuing the offer at US$11.8 billion.

Kharafi Group, which is believed to control around 20 per cent of Zain Group stock, said it would accept Etisalat’s offer for its stake. Nasser al-Kharafi, the head of Kharafi Group is reported to have told media in Kuwait that the offer was “suitable and good for both parties”.

It was the Kharafi Group’s need for cash which is believed to have prompted the US$10.7 billion sale of Zain’s mobile assets in Africa to India’s Bharti Airtel earlier this year. It is the continued cash crunch that is understood to be driving the further sale of Zain assets.

Etisalat said its bid is conditional, and is dependent on the fulfilment of specific requirements and conditions. A Zain insider told Comm. he believed these to be related to outstanding Zain loans as well as the overlap of operations in Saudi Arabia, where both Etisalat and Zain Group have operations.

Intel has inaugurated the region’s first Centre of Excellence for Wireless Applications (CEWA) in partnership with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The inauguration was conducted by Mohammed ibn Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, president of KACST, and Thomas Kilroy, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s sales and marketing group, in the presence of Prince Dr. Turki Saud Mohammad Al Saud, chairman of CEWA and VP for Research Institutes of KACST, and Prince Mohamed bin Khaled bin AlAbdullah AlFaisal, chairman of AlFaisaliah Group.

The centre’s key capabilities include offering expertise and consultative services to operators, governments, vendors and regulators to drive wireless applications and provide performance labs to evaluate and optimise wireless networks. In addition, CEWA is heavily geared toward research and development and offering managed services.

The CEWA initiative mirrors the three pillars of Intel’s Digital Transformation Initiative – that of fostering education, innovation and research, and will contribute to Intel’s commitment to developing the skill sets of the region’s future generations for the new knowledge economy.

France Telecom has entered a deal purchase 40 per cent of Moroccan telecom operator Meditel for €640 million (US$840 million). France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard said he planned to increase the group’s holding in Meditel to 49 percent within the next five years.

France Telecom aims to double revenue in emerging markets by 2015, largely through acquisitions worth between €5 billion – €7 billion.

Its acquisition of the Meditel stake puts it in competition with Vivendi, which is majority owner of Morocco’s former telecom monopoly Maroc Telecom. Maroc Telecom has a market share of about 50 per cent and Meditel 30 per cent, with the remainder held by third player Wana Corporate.

“We plan to add five per cent (to our stake in Meditel) in 2011 and then increase our holding in the company to 49 per cent by 2015,” Richard said.

“One of the plans for Meditel is to be listed on the (Casablanca) bourse in 2011. The details of this plan depend on the Moroccan shareholders,” he said.

Meditel has been looking for a major foreign investor since last year when two large shareholders, Spain’s Telefonica and Portugal Telecom sold their stakes of 32.2 per cent each.

Their shareholdings were bought by Moroccan private group FinanceCom and CDG for US$1.15 billion in September.

Batelco Bahrain has announced the appointment of Ghassan Murad to the post of chief financial officer for Batelco’s Bahrain operations.

With over 12 years experience in Batelco, as the head of mergers and acquisitions for MENA, Ghassan has been predominantly responsible for leading business development initiatives that have resulted in the acquisition of stakes in other companies including QualityNet, Umniah and Sabafon. Ghassan is also a board director of some of the overseas operating Batelco companies.

South Korea’s LG Electronics, the world’s third-largest mobile handset manufacturer, said its chief executive will be replaced by the brother of the LG Group’s chairman after record losses at its handset business.

Koo Bon-joon, the younger brother of LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo, will replace Nam Yong, who offered to resign at a board of director’s meeting on September 17 to take responsibility for poor management, LG Group said in a statement.

LG Electronics is the LG Group’s flagship business and its chief is considered number two in rank after the group chairman. Nam, 62, who has been CEO for four years, will remain in the job until a March stockholders meeting, where Koo will be officially appointed.

“Nam Yong offered to resign as CEO to take responsibility for the flagging performance and pave the way for a new CEO to prepare for the coming year and beyond,” the statement said.

In July, LG Electronics reported that second-quarter operating profit plunged 90 per cent to SKW 126 billion (US$109 million) from a record high of SKW 1.24 trillion a year earlier. The handset business suffered an operating loss of SKW 120 billion compared with a profit of SKW 620 billion the year before.

Koo, 59, has served as executive officer in various subsidiaries of LG Group, most recently as vice chairman of LG International.

The demise of Nam follows the removal of Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo as CEO of Nokia later this week, given the handset manufacturers muted performance in the smartphone space and its declining market valuation.