Malta’s oldest and largest telecommunications company is expected to be acquired by one of two Arab companies vying for its majority shareholding.
Industry sources said that two final bids were submitted to Go: by Batelco – Bahrain Telecoms Corporation – and by Tunisie Telecom, which is Tunisia’s largest telecommunications company.
In both cases, the government controls a majority shareholding.
Sources said that Go was to take the decision on the preferred bidder shortly, possibly by the end of this month.
Both Batelco and Tunisie Telecoms are the main providers in their countries for fixed, mobile and internet services, with Batelco also expanding out of the region at a fast place. Registering a profit of more than $120 million in its last financial year, Batelco has oversees investments in many other countries including Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Kuwait and even in small islands like the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man in the UK, as well as the Falklands.
Tunisie Telecom, which was established in 1996, has a subscriber base of six million clients in Tunisia alone and employs some 8,000 people.
The company currently already has a connection with Go, as they share the same shareholder. In 2006, Tecom Investments of Dubai bought a 35 per cent stake in the Tunisian company.
Sources said that although both companies were considered to be financially solid, the decision would be based on many factors but mostly on the price which the two companies are expected to pay for the 60 per cent stake currently held by Tecom.
The final negotiations on the share price to be established for Tecom to sell its shares to the new owner may also affect the share price of the 7,000 other individuals, mostly Maltese who hold shares traded on the Malta stock exchange.
Trading at €3.55 a share last Friday, the announcement of the preferred bidder shortly is expected to boost Go’s share price, at least until the final deal is announced.
Last year, the majority shareholder in Go announced that Tecom Investments of Dubai would be selling their stake.
Industry sources said that two final bids were submitted to Go: by Batelco – Bahrain Telecoms Corporation – and by Tunisie Telecom, Tunisia’s largest telecom company
Before the move, Go hived off the majority of its property portfolio, worth more than €50 million, into a separate company.
Although in a statement on the Malta Stock Exchange, the company said that it wanted to concentrate more on its telecommunications functions by separating its major property assets, industry sources had said that this was an evident move by Tecom to move out of the telecommunications business on the island.
Tecom Investments are also the major players in the development of Smart City in Kalkara.