BSNL, MTNL interested in Zain deal

KUWAIT: BSNL and MTNL are interested in joining a consortium to buy up to 46% of Zain, said Kuwaiti conglomerate Kharafi Group.

Last month, Kharafi ��� a major shareholder in Zain ��� said it had agreed to sell its estimated 20% stake, and an additional 26% from other stakeholders, to a consortium led by Vavasi Group and including BSNL and MTNL as well as Malaysian billionaire Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary.

���The Kharafi Group has received an official letter stating that BSNL and MTNL are interested in participating in the proposal,��� said Kharafi���s Group VC Bader al-Kharafi.

for buying up to 46% of Zain���s shares from the Kharafi Group,��� said Kharafi���s Group vice-chairman Bader al-Kharafi in a statement on Saturday.

���The participation will be after conducting the requisite due diligence with regard to a fair evaluation and obtaining the necessary permissions and approvals from the government of India,��� Kharafi added.

The group will pay 2 dinars a share for Zain, valuing the stake in the Arab world���s third-largest telecommunications company at about $13.7 billion, Kharafi had said, making it one of the biggest overseas acquisitions of a Gulf region company.

On September 10, BSNL and MTNL said they had yet to decide on joining the consortium. BSNL, which has cash reserves of more than $6 billion, needs the Indian government���s approval to make big investments. On September 16, the Kharafi Group appealed to other small shareholders to join the consortium of sellers. In advertisements in local Kuwaiti papers, a firm owned by Kharafi urged shareholders, who own no more than 300,000 shares in Zain as of September 6, to join the offer.