Etisalat acquires 15.97% in Indonesian mobile operator Excelcomindo for Dhs1.6bn

Etisalat has agreed to pay $438m (Dhs1.6bn) for the stake, implying the equity value of Excelcomindo to be $2.742bn (Dhs9.955bn). With this acquisition, Etisalat now operates across 16 countries worldwide.

HE Mohammad Hassan Omran, Chairman, Etisalat, said: "Etisalat follows a strategy based on international best practice in investment, growing and adding value every market it enters. This investment represents an important step for Etisalat's international expansion strategy into Asia. The Indonesian market is one of the largest and fastest growing mobile markets worldwide and it is also the third largest mobile market in Asia excluding Japan."

Etisalat acquired 1.132 billion ordinary shares of Excelcomindo from Rajawali Group. Upon the completion of this transaction, Etisalat has the right to nominate a seat on the Board of Commissioners and one seat for the Board of Directors of Excelcomindo.

Excelcomindo currently has around 13 million mobile subscribers in Indonesia representing a market share of approximately 14% as of 30 September 2007. In addition, Excelcomindo has built one of Indonesia's highest quality mobile networks, with fiber optic transmission infrastructure covering all major cities. This raises the number of subscribers in the companies that Etisalat manages or contributes towards to over 50 million subscribers with a total population of 832 million people across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

TM International Sdn Bhd, an affiliate of Telekom Malaysia Berhad, and Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the investment holding arm of the government of Malaysia, hold 67% and 16.8%, respectively, in Excelcomindo

Excelcomindo's shares have been listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange since September 2005.

The transaction is expected to close soon.