Omantel’s Kuwait-based subsidiary company, Zain Group, has received an offer of $1.3 billion from Invictus Holding Ltd for the acquisition of 100 percent state in Zain Sudan and Kuwait Sudanese Holding Co. Zain is Kuwait’s largest telecom operator by subscribers.
The group in an interview with the Muscat Stock Exchange said, “We would like to disclose that Zain has received a non-binding offer to acquire 100 per cent stake in Zain Sudan and Kuwait Sudanese Holdings by Invictus Holding Limited, a subsidiary of DAL Group for the amount of US$1.3bn.”
The telecoms company has also revealed that the offer from Invictus Holding Ltd., does not include Zain South Sudan, which is an off shoot of the original Zain Sudan unit after the country seceded from Sudan to gain independence. A subsidiary of Sudanese conglomerate Dal Group, Invictus Holding has stakes in several sectors like healthcare, agriculture, energy, mining, and automotive in Sudan.
Reports also have it that Zain’s board has agreed to proceed with the due diligence on the offer before giving its approval.
Zain Sudan has a good year with a doubling of net profit year-on-year to $72 million. Revenue from data represented 28 percent of total revenue, while the operator’s customer base reached 16.4 million, according to Zain’s financial report.
Kuwait Sudanese Holding Co., an ICT managed service provider, is a sister company of Zain Sudan.