Vodafone Qatar pulls out of QNBN purchase deal

Vodafone Qatar has decided against buying Qatar National Broadband Network (QNBN), the country’s state-owned fixed broadband operator; two months after it announced a non-binding agreement with the firm.

The deal would have been worth around US$57 million and would have seen Vodafone Qatar, the smaller of the two mobile operators in the country behind Ooredoo, fully own the broadband operator.

Vodafone provided no explicit reason for the decision, simply stating that “following a due diligence and negotiation process, the parties have determined not to proceed with the transaction”.

QNBN is in the process of rolling out a fibre network across the country and has contracts with both Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo for the provision of wholesale broadband capacity, so avoiding possible duplication.