LONDON/RIYADH, (Reuters) – Zain Saudi Arabia Chief Executive Saad al-Barrak, is looking for backers for a buyout of Zain’s 2.75 billion riyal ($733 million) stake in the company, four people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
“Al-Barrak has approached several Saudi and regional funds trying to put together money for the acquisition,” one of the people said.
Kuwaiti-based Zain has to sell its 25 percent stake in Zain Saudi for regulatory reasons so that its $12 billion sale of 46 percent of its stock to Etisalat, the Gulf’s second largest telecom operator by market value, can proceed.