Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Saudi Telecom buys 25% in Maxis, enters India

The proposed acquisition of a 25% stake in Malaysia's largest mobile operator, Maxis Communications, by Saudi Telecom Company (STC) will enable it to gain an entry into India.

The Saudi Arabian state-controlled company will get an 18.5% indirect stake in Chennai-based Aircel, which is the country’s fifth largest GSM operator.

According to a communique issued to the Riyadh Stock Exchange, the companies – STC and Maxis - will invest around $900 million in India. This will help Aircel expand its operations in the country and become a pan-Indian telecom player. Aircel, which has 6.40 million subscribers with a market share of around 4.97%, operates in nine circles including Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa,West Bengal and Bihar. It has also recieved licences to operate in 14 more circles, and has been waiting for allocation of spectrum to start opearations.

STC has agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Maxis for $3.04 billion (11.4 billion riyals). This will also enable the company to get a 51% stake in Maxis' Indonesian operations, it said in the statement.

(Source: Business Standard)

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