e& waiting for regulatory approvals to increase stake in Mobily to 50% +1 share

Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO at e&

Abu Dhabi-listed telecom operator e& (formerly Etisalat Group) seeks to raise its holding in Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) to 50% plus one share, from the current 28%. e& is still waiting for a response from the Saudi telco if its ready to raise this interest even to 100%, Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO told UAE-based Alkhaleej newspaper.

e& hopes to conclude this deal by the end of 2022, Dowidar added.

In March, the UAE telecom giant approached to discuss increasing its shareholding in Mobily to 50% plus one share using a pre-conditional partial tender offer under the merger and acquisition regulations issued by the Capital Market Authority, Argaam earlier reported.

e& proposed a price of SAR 47 per Mobily share, which represents a premium of 22.2% to Mobily’s closing share price of SAR 38.45 on March 15, 2022; 38.8% to the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of Mobily shares over the three-month period ending March 15; and 45.1% to Mobily’s VWAP over the six-month period ending March 15.