etisalat set to acquire Middle East telecom firm

Dubai: etisalat is in final stages of talks to buy a majority stake in a Middle East telecoms operator this year, the head of international investments at etisalat said on Sunday.

"This year we are looking at at least one more acquisition ... We are planning to buy a stake in a company, it will be a majority stake," Jamal Al Jarwan told Reuters by telephone.

"We are in direct talks with this operator, in final stages," he said.

etisalat bought a 45 per cent stake in India's Swan Telecom last week for about $900 million to tap the world's second-largest wireless market. It also said earlier this month it plans to enter the Iraqi market before the end of year.

Al Jarwan declined to identify the country where etisalat, the second-largest Arab telecom firm by market value, plans the acquisition or how much it could spend. He said the firm would announce the deal next month.

Like its Gulf Arab peers that are facing stiffening competition in their home market, etisalat has been expanding aggressively abroad, snapping up assets in countries such as Pakistan and Egypt. It operates in 16 countries.

Mobile penetration in the UAE, which has a population of 4.5 million people, exceeds 150 per cent.