DUBAI, (Reuters) – Bahrain Telecommunications BTEL.BH will proceed with its joint $950 million cash bid for a stake in Zain’s Saudi unit despite the end of the Kuwaiti firm’s $12 billion deal with Etisalat. Batelco’s chief executive said on Saturday.
Batelco teamed up with Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding to bid for Zain’s 25 percent stake in Zain Saudi Arabia.
“We were not buying Zain, we were buying a stake in Zain KSA and we are still interested in that,” Batelco CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos told Reuters from Riyadh. “Now the question is will Zain still sell it. But we will proceed.”
Etisalat scrapped its offer on Saturday to buy a controlling stake in Zain.