Tecom and DIG buy controlling Maltacom stake

Dubai: Tecom Investments and the Dubai Investment Group (DIG), members of Dubai Holding, yesterday acquired a 60 per cent controlling stake in Maltese telecom company Maltacom for Dh1. billion.

The final purchase price at Dh17.13 per Maltacom share is lower than its closing price of Dh20.35 on on the Malta Stock Exchange.

The Tecom-DIG consortium was selected as the preferred bidder for Maltacom after a public selection process conducted by Malta.

The signing ceremony took place yesterday morning in Valetta and was attended by Austin Gatt, Malta's Minister for Investments, Industry and IT; Ahmad Bin Byat, CEO of Tecom Investments and Soud Ba'alawy, CEO of DIG.

"Tecom's investment in Maltacom is aimed at leveraging Malta's growth potential and geographic location as well as our experience in successfully establishing and growing ICT clusters. It has provided us with an ideal opportunity to become the focal point for the expansion of the ICT sector in the Mediterranean region.

"With this acquisition, we are also conscious of the role that we are assuming in contributing to the development of the Maltese economy," said Bin Byat.

"The acquisition of Maltacom represents a significant milestone for DIG and is indicative of our long-term commitment to the Maltese market in particular, and the Mediterranean region in general," said Ba'alawy. "This investment along with the other projects that Dubai Holding is undertaking in Malta demonstrates the country's attractive potential for foreign direct investment."

Factfile: What is Maltacom?

Maltacom is the leading provider of telecommunications and related services on Malta. Its portfolio of activities includes advanced national and international telecommunications services, mobile, internet services, data, and IT business solutions.

As of April, Maltacom had a market share of close to 100 per cent in the fixed market and of approximately 48 per cent on the mobile market.