MTNL-BSNL set to bag Zain stake?

PSUs Part Of Vavasi-Al Bukhary Consortium Closing In On Kuwait Telco Partha Sinha | TNN  Mumbai: State-owned telecom majors MTNL and BSNL are believed to part of the consortium that is close to taking control of Zain, the Kuwait-based telecom company that operates in 24 countries in Middle-East and Africa. The Kharafi family that owns about 32% stake in Zain, plans to sell their stake to a consortiumled by Vavasi-Al Bukhary families which have ties in India and Malaysia.      Sources said MTNL-BSNL is close to joining the winning consortium of Vavasi-Al Bukhary families.      Zain is listed on the Kuwait stock exchange and its market capitalisation at Tuesday's close was about $21 billion.      However, an agency report said that the 32% stake held by the present owners are valued at nearly $14 billion, thus valuing the deal at about $40 billion. According to the current structure being discussed, the winning consortium will have management control with nearly 10% stake being held as treasury shares in the company itself. MTNL, BSNL officials could not be contacted for comments.      Zain, formerly MTC, is one of the pioneers of telecom services in the Middle East. The company currently operates in 24 countries that include markets like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain in the Middle East.      In Africa, Zain (formerly Celtel) is present in countries like Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and some other countries. Compared to the Bharti-MTN deal, the Zain deal was done in a nearopaque manner.      Sources said the presence of the Indian consortium highlights the geo-strategic advantages the deal could bring in since more than half of Zain operations are in future markets of Africa and some in the strategically important mid-east countries. Sources said some of the top ministers and government officials were eager that MTNL-BSNL joined the consortium as equal partners.      Between July 9 and September 6 Zain's shares had increased over 50%, after its CEO said it was in early talks to sell a stake in its African operations. Average trading volumes since July 8 have been 78% higher than the 12-month average. But since Sunday, the stock has lost about 11% due to profit taking, news reports said.