Batelco to acquire Cable & Wireless Communications assets for $1 bn

Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) yesterday agreed to acquire severals Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) group companies comprisin its Monaco and Islands Division in a deal worth up to $1 billion.

State-controlled Batelco will acquire CWC's entire interest in The Maldives, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, the Seychelles, South Atlantic and Diego Garcia as well as a 25-per cent stake in Compagnie Monagesque de Communications SAM (CMC), which holds CWC's 55 per cent interest in Monaco Telecom, which holds a 36.8 per cent stake in Roshan, a mobile phone operator in Afghanistan, for $680 million. 

Under a put and call arrangement, Batelco will buy CWC's remaining 75 per cent interest in CMC, which will give Batelco a controlling stake in Monaco Telecom for $345 million, taking the total deal value to $1.025 billion.

Batelco said that if the approvals are not obtained from the Principality of Monaco, it will sell back the 25-per cent stake in CMC to CWC for $100 million.

CWC's Monaco and Islands division owns stakes in telecom operators in 12 markets including the Maldives, Channel Islands and the Seychelles, providing fixed-line, mobile, broadband and television services.

CWC, which is in the process of selling  majority stake in Macau's largest telecom group, said the Batelco deal will cut its debt from $1.58 billion to $937 million.