Zain clears impediments to takeover

Zain has announced that its shareholders have approved removing ownership restrictions from its statutes, paving the way for a foreign or local investor to own a majority on the cellco.

Zain is in talks with three international telecoms companies on the sale of its African operations. “All scenarios are possible,” commented Saad Al Barrak, Zain Group CEO, on August 31, following an extraordinary general assembly meeting.

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.

“There is a demand for the African assets, in fact demand that is way beyond what we ever expected,” Al Barrak is reported as saying.

Zain shares are trading at 1,480 fils (US$5.16) in Kuwait, valuing the company at around US$22 billion. The stock price has risen close to 80 per cent since the beginning of the year.