Tech Mahindra acquires 51 per cent stake in Comviva (India)

Tech Mahindra has acquired 51 per cent equity on a fully diluted basis in Bharti Group-owned mobile value-added services provider Comviva Technologies. The deal is valued at Rs 2.6 billion. Tech Mahindra will make an upfront payment of Rs 1.25 billion and the remaining Rs 1.35 billion will be paid over a period of five years, based on Comviva’s performance. The Bharti Group will hold 20 per cent stake in the company while WestBridge Capital will hold 8 per cent. Sequoia Capital and Cisco, which held 9 per cent and 6 per cent stakes respectively in Comviva, will exit the company. The entity will be renamed Mahindra Comviva.

Siva Group to sell entire stake in TTSL

The Siva Group, owned  by C. Sivasankaran, is planning to sell its entire stake of 3.75 per cent in Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL). The group holds about 274.6 million TTSL shares through Siva Industries & Holdings, SIG Event Management and Enterprises, and Goldman Dealer Private Limited. It has selected investment bank JM Financial to find a potential buyer, particularly private equity funds and hedge funds. In 2009, the Siva Group sold a part of its 8 per cent stake to NTT DOCOMO.

Etisalat plans to sell stake in XL Axiata (Indonesia)

UAE-based operator Etisalat is planning to offload the majority of its stake in Indonesian service provider XL Axiata. JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley have been selected to manage the stake sale. Etisalat plans to offer the shares at a price range of $0.63-$0.66 each. The company had acquired a 13.29 per cent stake in Axiata for $440 million in 2007. Axiata is currently valued at only $500 million as its share price has dropped by 50 per cent in 2012.

PLDT raises funds through fixed-rate bond issue (Philippines)

The Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) has raised $211 million through the issue of seven-year and 10-year fixed-rate bonds. The service provider intends to use the proceeds to reduce its external debt. The BPI Capital Corporation and the First Metro Investment Corporation managed the sale of the bonds.

Globe Telecom secures a loan from three insurance companies

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom has secured a $48.5 million loan from three insurance companies to refinance debt and fund its capital expenditure. The insurance companies are the Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company, the Insular Life Assurance Company and Sunlife of Canada (Philippines). The Insular Investment Corporation arranged the 10-year loan, which has a fixed interest rate.

Softbank to acquire eAccess (Japan)

Japan-based operator Softbank Corporation is planning to acquire eAccess Limited through a stock swap deal worth about $2.3 billion. Softbank has offered 16.74 of its shares for each eAccess share, valued at JPY 52,000. The acquisition is expected to be completed by February 25, 2013. Following the acquisition, Softbank would have over 39 million subscribers. Moreover, the deal will increase Softbank’s long term evolution base stations by 50 per cent to about 30,000 by March 2013.

Qtel increases share in Wataniya Telecom (Qatar)

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has increased its stake in Kuwait-based subsidiary, National Mobile Telecommunications (Wataniya Telecom), following the conclusion of a mandatory tender offer. Qtel’s stake has increased from 52.5 per cent to 92.1 per cent. It had offered to purchase 47.5 per cent stake from the minority shareholders of Wataniya Telecom for $2.2 billion. However, the operator received acceptance for 39.61 per cent, valuing the deal at $1.84 billion. Of this, Qtel acquired 23.5 per cent stake from the Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund – the Kuwait Investment Authority – which was the second largest shareholder in Wataniya.

Viettel Global Investment acquires majority stake in EGOTEL (Tanzania)

Vietnam-based operator the Viettel Global Investment Joint Stock Company has acquired 65 per cent stake in Tanzania’s Epocha & Golden Ocean (EGOTEL) for $18 million. Viettel will invest $61.7 million in the wireless operator and mobilise $146.1 million for EGOTEL in the form of loans from shareholders.

Zain Iraq plans to launch IPO (Iraq)

Zain Iraq is planning to issue equity shares through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Iraq Stock Exchange by early 2013. According to the terms of the 15-year mobile concessions awarded to Zain Iraq in August 2007, the operator was required to sell a quarter of the company’s equity through an IPO by August 2011. However, Zain Iraq missed this deadline and was recently penalised.

KDN plans to divest equity (Kenya)

Kenya Data Networks (KDN) is planning to offload significant equity stake to a strategic investor to meet its capital expenditure requirements and recover from financial losses. At present, Altech holds 60.8 per cent equity in KDN while the remaining is held by the Sameer Investment Group.