Takeover discussions for Etihad Atheeb no longer exclusive to Mobily

Mobily is taking longer to complete a previously announced deal to buy the local landline operator, Etihad Atheeb.

The company announced in August that it was to buy a majority stake in the landline network, and had set a deadline of the end of this month to secure the regulatory approvals and complete due diligence on Etihad Atheeb.

It has now extended the talks until the end of January 2014, with the discussions no longer being exclusive, allowing a rival bidder to emerge. Bahrain’s Batelco owns a 15 per cent stake in the company, but has shied away from buying the entire company in the past.

Etihad Atheeb had itself previously expressed an interest in buying a stake in a mobile network operator, but has posted years of losses and was now considered a likely target for a buyout by one of the country’s mobile networks instead.

The landline operator is a joint venture of Atheeb Trading Company, Al-Nahla Trading Company, Batelco and Traco Company. Just under half its shares are listed on the stock exchange, where they have been suspended several times over the years due to its on-going losses.