Kampuni ya Zain Inauzwa!

[Mganga wa Jadi]

Conflicting messages are coming out of the Middle East about how seriously Zain is considering selling its pan-African networks. But Zain seems to have been trying to boost the idea of it selling its African operations (minus Sudan).

Last week, the Kuwait-based cellular operator said it was working with Swiss bank UBS and other advisers, to study and review its strategy to boost shareholder value during the financial downturn.

Its shares climbed 5,1% to an eight-month high as investors took that to imply it is serious about shedding its operations in 16 African countries. Initial rumours published in Kuwait had cited the French company Vivendi as discussing a $12bn buyout.

Zain's statement, published on the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange last week, did not say if it was specifically reviewing its African arm. But it did say the statement was being made in response to media reports that it had asked UBS to assess the sale of its African investments.

Yet only a day earlier, Zain's business development and regulatory affairs executive, Barrak al- Subeih, said it had not received an offer from Vivendi or anyone else for its African operations. He had previously been cited by a Kuwaiti newspaper as saying it had received several offers and would consider selling if the price was right.

His latest comments made that rather more nebulous, as he said many large companies had "shown an interest" in Zain's African networks and it would always consider a sale if the price was right. Zain's African networks account for 65% of its subscribers and 56% of revenue, but absorb more than 75% of its capital expenditure and create just 15% of net income.

Bloomberg said three people had confirmed to its journalists that UBS was called in to consider a possible sale of Zain's African division, which it values at about $10bn. Vivendi had approached Zain in recent months to discuss buying the division, they said.

The sources, who declined to be identified, said UBS would oversee a review that might lead to a sale of all or part of the unit. If a sale did go ahead it would exclude its Sudanese operations, they said.

Source :Kuwait's Al Qabas newspaper

 

[Mganga wa Jadi]

Vivendi Bids to Join Africa's Mobile Phone Boom
by: Carol Matlack on July 09

Paris-based Vivendi, best known as the owner of Universal Music and Activision Blizzard video games, is setting its sights on a new destination: the fast-growing cellular phone business in sub-Saharan Africa.

Vivendi on July 9 confirmed it was in talks to acquire the mobile phone business of Kuwaiti group Zain, which has some 40 million African subscribers. If successful, the deal would make Vivendi one of the biggest cellular companies in Africa.

Vivendi's chief mobile phone business now is in France, where its SFR unit is No. 2 behind France Telecom's Orange. It also is majority owner of Moroccan phone group Maroc Telecom, which has 14.6 million mobile subscribers. To reduce its dependence on slow-growing France, Vivendi has been scouting for opportunities in emerging economies.


Africa certainly fits the bill. It has become one of the fastest-growing markets on the planet for mobile operators such as Britain's Vodafone, one of the most aggressive investors in the region.

A deal with Zain would give Vivendi a big piece of the action. Zain has some 17.2 million subscribers in Nigeria, 5.2 million in Sudan, and a total 15 million in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda. That would place Vivendi roughly even with one of the region's biggest players: Vodacom, a South African company 65% owned by Vodafone. Africa's biggest mobile phone outfit, South Africa-based MTN group, has some 80 million subscribers.

In announcing its talks with Zain, Vivendi stressed there was "no certainty" that it would reach an agreement. The French business daily Les Echos reported that Zain, which bought pan-African operator Celtel in 2005 for $3.4 billion, is now asking as much as $12 billion for the business, and that Vivendi was balking at that figure.

But if Vivendi gets its way, it will soon be selling not only music and video games, but also phone service in remote African villages. That's what you call a truly diversified global company.

 

[Discoverer]

Hawa jamaa wataishia wapi? Maana walianza kama Celtel Tanzania, wakauzwa wakawa Celtel internatinal,wakauzwa wakawa Zain na baada ya muda simrefu watakuwa Vivendi.... What is next?? Na share za serikali yetu zinalindwaje kwenye hii kampuni?

 

[Teamo]

baba anamuuzia mtoto,mambo ya mtindo huo!ili mradi wamkabili T.R.A

na hii nchi bwana we acha tu!kwanini anayenunua asiwe ananunua na madeni?

 

[Meroon05]

chaka mwana

 

[Mganga wa Jadi]

Kinacho nishangaza ni kwanini zain Sudani haijawa included? Ni kwa sababu ya Mo Ibrahim ambaye alianzisha Celtel kuwa ni raia wa sudan? Na ni nini hatma ya wafanyakazi wazalendo wa Tanzania.
Kuna u lazima serikali ikaingilia kati na kulinda maslahi ya wanachi wake badala ya kuachia hiyo danadana iendelee.

 

[Chuma]

Wadau inaonekana Zain Africa anytime inaweza kuuzwa akipataka Mteja atakae fika dau lao.

Kuna Kampuni ya Ufaransa wamefika dau la dola Billion 10.5 lkn Zain wamekataa hio offer...yapo Mengine kama matatu nayo yanashindana Kugombania hio Offer ya Kunnua...

Kuwait-based Mobile Telecommunications Co (Zain), has officially told French entertainment and telecom group Vivendi that it has rejected its offer to buy its African business, Kuwait-based Al-Qabas daily reported on Monday.

Vivendi had offered to buy 65 percent of Zain Africa for about $10.5 billion, the paper reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

The payment mechanisms of the stake's value could be behind Zain's rejection of Vivendi's offer, the people told Al-Qabas.

Zain will evaluate other bids from international companies but would not sell unless it makes sure it will realise a good return from the deal because it enjoys a strong financial position and is not in a hurry to exit any investment, the sources added. Zain and Vivendi both declined to comment Monday.

www.business.maktoob.com

 

[mmaroroi]

TTCL hawarudishiwi tena baada ya wajanja kupata faida ya kuachia ngazi?

 

[Game Theory]

Kama jamaa wa Kuwait wameshindwa then i guess itabidi wawatupie jamaa wa Abudhabi lakini i thought even in this credit crunch mobile phone industry bado inalipa kwa Africa even though running costs nazo zinaweza zikawa ni kubwa sana

 

[Mganga wa Jadi]

Baada ya kampuni ya Vivendi kujitoa katika deal ya kuinunua zain africa, sasa imerudi tena sokoni.
Habari kamili.....


Zain still in search of a buyer

French telecoms firm, Vivendi SA's confirmation that it has broken off talks with Zain about the sale of the latter's African operations lays bare the likelihood that Zain is seriously considering selling up.

Vivendi, in a statement posted on Monday, said it was pulling out because the deal was inconsistent with its financial criteria.

Zain had hoped to get up to $12 billion for a share swap transaction, but Vivendi had offered to outrightly acquire the company's assets for $10 billion.

While several reasons have been adduced for Zain's intentions, a sale would ultimately dismantle Zain and threaten the survival of the entire group.

Analyst views

Zain's sudden change of heart is surprising, says Emeka Obiodu, senior analyst at Ovum, an international research firm with focus on telecoms IT and software development.

For a company that wowed the market with its ambitions to be a top-ten global mobile operator by 2011, the potential sale of Zain Africa is a U-turn. When Zain outlined its ‘3x3x3' strategy in 2003, it set a three-year timetable to become a regional, an international and then a global leader. To suddenly abandon that ambition unfortunately seems like an admission of failure.

Reason for sale

Why would Zain sell? In Ovum's forthcoming report on Zain Africa, the analyst firm probes into the operations of Zain to find out why it wants to sell. Admittedly, its African operations are under performing. Africa accounts for about two-thirds of the group's customers but less than 20 percent of the group's profits. In fact, in the first quarter of 2009, seven operations in Africa made a net loss.

But such is the case for other global players. Indeed, what is the point of having a global footprint if not to enjoy economies of scale and offset poor performance in struggling units? When Ovum compared Zain Group with its peers, it could not find any rationale why it should sell its African units.

Its EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Tax and Depreciation) margin is neither the best nor the worst, as is its debt/EBITDA ratio.

However, Zain spent less than $5 billion to amass the assets, and if reports of a valuation of over $12 billion are true then ‘silly money' could be driving a sale. Ultimately, if a sale proceeds, a decimated Zain group will have to worry about its own survival as an independent telecoms group.

With Vivendi out of the race, the road is now clear for other interested parties like Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates. Vivendi said talks broke off because a deal would not meet its "financial criteria" for acquisitions, suggesting that Zain was asking for too much money.

However, Vivendi has other underlying financial issues of its own to sort out (its credit ratings and its dividend commitments) and is not really an ideal buyer for Zain Africa.

Ovum's report

In the Ovum report, it profiled other Western operators that could wade in. But for each of them, there are underlying obstacles. Orange and Vodafone have already built up an extensive African footprint, piece by piece, and an acquisition would overlap with their existing footprint. Others such as Telefonica and T-Mobile are so far removed from Africa that it would represent a new path in their strategy.

Without the Western players or a private equity fund, the most likely owners for Zain Africa will be fellow Middle Eastern players or Chinese and Indian operators.

Both Bharti and Reliance in India have flirted with MTN as they seek entry routes into Africa. Likewise, China Mobile has long wished for a global footprint. Could Zain Africa give it its first major breakthrough on the international stage? Other Middle East players such as Q-tel as well as Etisalat could also snap up Zain Africa to solidify their African presence.

A sale by Zain further punctures the hype around emerging markets.

Regardless of the reason Zain proffers for selling up, a sale would indicate to the markets that emerging markets are not a must-have asset at whatever cost.

Investors (such as Vodafone) always justify their foray into emerging markets by saying that such markets have high growth potential and will be worth far more in the future.

If Zain is to now admit that it has struggled in Africa, the lesson would be that a blind land-grab strategy in a maturing industry can no longer be taken for granted.

Just as the markets penalised Vivendi's share price recently, any publicly owned company embarking on an emerging market acquisition jamboree will now have to work harder to convince its shareholders.

 

[Mganga wa Jadi]

Etisalat has denied that it is in talks with Zain regarding the acquisition of a stake in the company or “any of its assets in Africa”, in an apparent move to downplay comments made by the chief of Etisalat’s international unit earlier this week.

Jamal al-Jarwan, chief executive of Etisalat’s international unit told Reuters on Tuesday that the company was “interested in Zain as a whole, given the right values” and added that the company was “looking at a 51% stake”.