Publish Date : 06-Apr-2013
Bahrain\'s regional wireless carrier, Batelco Group, has recently completed its deal to acquire various companies from Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), which include its Monaco and Islands Division.
Batelco\'s Group CEO Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa and CWC have jointly announced that, subsequent to a deal inked with CWC on 2 Dec 2012, all the required regulatory approvals and terms precedent have now been met and ownership of specific firms has now been transferred to Batelco.
Under the deal, the Bahraini telco has acquired the entire stakes of CWC in Dhiraagu (Maldives), Sure Channel Islands and Isle of Man and CWC operations in Falkland Islands, St Helena, Ascension and Diego Garcia (\'SADG\').
Batelco also acquired a 25% interest in Compagnie Monegasque de Communications SAM (\'CMC\'), which owns CWC\'s 55% stake in Monaco Telecom.
Batelco has paid a total consideration of $570 million for these assets.
Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Group Chairman, Batelco, said : \'Batelco Group is very pleased to formalise this transaction which will see the Group emerge as a communications player of global relevance and Bahrain’s most diversified international company. With the acquisition of these businesses from CWC, we are extending our reach and taking our expertise to several new markets across the globe. This acquisition supports our strategy by adding new clusters of operations in new markets and complements our continued efforts to drive value and diversification.\'
Batelco Group CEO, Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa, added : \'This is an auspicious day for Batelco Group as we take a giant leap from being essentially a Middle Eastern regional company to become a global enterprise. Today, the scale and diversification of our operations has increased significantly as Batelco Group will now have the opportunity to participate, in collaboration with its new business partners, across 16 markets. We look forward to visiting our new companies to meet management and staff to establish sound working relationships in order to ensure the continued delivery of value and innovation to their customers. With the added scale, we hope to achieve greater synergies in areas such as procurement, investments in network infrastructure, applications and content, global roaming arrangements, talent management and executive leadership development, across all the businesses. Additionally, there are benefits to be gained from the transfer of know-how and innovation exchange between all operations.\'
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