Emirates Telecommunications Corp said on October 17 that it wants controlling stakes in Greek, Sri Lankan and Yemen mobile-phone operators as it expands abroad ahead of the imminent end of its domestic monopoly.
The United Arab Emirates-based company, the second-largest telecom company in the Arab world by market value, submitted a non-binding bid for Greece's TIM Hellas on Monday, Chief Executive Mohammed al-Qamzi told Reuters.
"We look at it as a good company and a good operator and it is making good revenues," Qamzi said in an interview.
TIM Hellas, the third-largest mobile operator in Greece, is owned by private equity firms Texas Pacific Group and Apax Partners. It has declined to confirm reports that its owners had put it up for sale.
Regional telecom giants like Emirates Telecoms, also known as Etisalat, are flush with cash in the wake of economic growth driven by record oil prices.
Etisalat has been expanding aggressively abroad before it loses its domestic monopoly when Dubai-based du launches operations, likely before the end of the year.
"We are looking for controlling stakes in operators. Always existing operators are better because it takes a short amount of time to develop them and you get a quick return on it," Qamzi said.
Etisalat, which reported a 42 percent jump in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, is also negotiating with the Sri Lankan government for a controlling stake in fixed-line operator Sri Lanka Telecom, Qamzi said.
Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp owns a 35 percent stake in Sri Lanka Telecom.
Etisalat's talks on Yemen's mobile operator Sabafon are now in their final stages, he said. Privately owned Sabafon is one of two companies offering mobile services in Yemen, which has a population of 19 million.
PROFIT GROWTH:
A consortium led by Etisalat won Egypt's third mobile phone licence for 16.7 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.91 billion) in July, paying 20 percent above the second-highest offer.