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Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
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Saudi Telecom to pay US$3bn for a 25 percent stake in Maxis, the mobile operator active in Malaysia, Indonesia and India.
The announcement by Saudi Telecom of a US$3bn investment in Binariang, the holding company which in turn owns a 60% stake in Maxis, is the Saudi PTO’ first major foray into overseas markets. Just last month Binariang, led by the charismatic Malaysian entrepreneur Ananda Krishnan, launched a bid to take Maxis private with an offer worth up to US$5bn for the outstanding shares. The injection of Saudi capital should assist this effort.
The immediate appeal for Saudi Telecom includes roaming revenues between Indian and other migrant workers and their home countries. In the longer term, it is part of a new ST strategy to develop a more dominant position in the region’s telecom sector.
In the Malaysian market, Maxis claims leadership with 8.5mn subscribers. In India, Maxis holds a 74% stake in Aircel following a March 2006 deal. At the end of last year it had more than 4.5mn customers in nine of the country’s 23 telecom ‘circles’ (or licensing regions).
Maxis bought a 51% stake in NTS of Indonesia in April 2005, although the company is still in its launch phase. The Saudi investment is expected to accelerate the roll-out of this network.
Jim Chalmers
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