The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) is to allow the multinational telecoms group to acquire its subsidiary’s assets in Algeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
This follows a meeting on Sunday at which Global Telecom Holding’s (GTH) board of directors accepted the offer submitted by VEON to acquire the company’s assets for $2.3 billion.
VEON, which has headquarters in Amsterdam, is to proceed with a mandatory share buyout offer from its majority-owned subsidiary, Global Telecom Holding (GTH).
Approval granted
The FRA approved VEON’s cash tender offer to buy the outstanding shares in GTH not held by VEON (about 42.31% of GTH’s issued shares).
It is expected that VEON will delist GTH from the Egyptian Exchange.
VEON’s offer is to GTH “to acquire substantially all of its operating assets, subject to successful completion of the mandatory tender offer and delisting”.
The move will increase VEON’s stake in its subsidiary’s mobile operating companies: Djezzy in Algeria, Banglalink in Bangladesh and Jazz in Pakistan.
VEON operates communications networks and provides digital services to 210 million customers in ten countries: Russia, Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
GTH moves on up
Global Telecom Holding’s consolidated profits surged to hit $26 million during the first half of 2019, up from $100,000 during the same half of 2018.
Global Telecom business is wireless telecoms services: it has 116 subsidiaries operating across Southern and Central Asia, North America, British Islands, Western Europe, Northern Africa, Eastern Africa, Middle East and Southern Europe.
GTH has also agreed to settle all GTH’s and its subsidiaries’ outstanding tax liabilities with the Egyptian Tax Authority which amounts to $136 million. The board postponed the extraordinary general meeting related to the asset transfer offer and delisting to September 9 instead of August 17.