VimpelCom Ltd. (“VimpelCom”) and Global Telecom Holding S.A.E. (“GTH”), together with Warid Telecom Pakistan LLC and Bank Alfalah Limited (“Dhabi Group shareholders”), have today reached an agreement to merge their Pakistan telecom businesses. The merger of Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (“Mobilink”) and Warid Telecom (Private) Limited (“Warid”) will see the combined entity serving 45 million customers. The transaction is the first merger in the mobile telecommunications sector in Pakistan.
Mobilink as the first GSM cellular mobile service in Pakistan with a joint venture by Saif Group and Motorola Inc., who later sold it to Orascom Telecom, an Egypt-based multinational company and then they also further sold it to Vimpelcom Group. (Wikipedia)
Commenting on the agreement, Jean-Yves Charlier, Chief Executive Officer of VimpelCom, said:
“We are delighted to announce the agreement with the Dhabi Group shareholders today to combine our businesses in Pakistan. With the addition of Warid to our already strong customer base at Mobilink, we will serve more than 45 million customers and offer a best-in-class mobile and high-speed data network – a key factor in the digital enablement of Pakistan’s economy. This transaction follows a number of strategic milestones for the company, including our recent joint venture announcement with WIND and 3 Italia in Italy and the agreement to sell our operations in Zimbabwe. This is yet another important step in our journey to continue delivering on our strategy to transform VimpelCom and improve our competitive position in our operating markets.”
The transaction is expected to create Capex and Opex synergies with a net present value of approximately USD 500 million. The combined revenue of both companies for the 12 months to September 2015 was USD 1.4 billion.
