The Asiacell Consortium was informed that it was successful in bidding for one of three GSM licenses being tendered by the Communications and Media Commission of Iraq. The successful consortium is comprised of Asiacell Iraq - one of Iraq’s leading telecommunication operators; Qtel - a rapidly expanding regional operator; and MerchantBridge – a leading investment bank with extensive MENA and European activities. The Asiacell Consortium will operate through a new company Asiacell Communications LLC (ACL).
The Asiacell Consortium, which is majority owned by Iraqi nationals, has agreed to pay $1.25bn for a 15 year GSM license for both the 900 MHZ and the 1800 MHz spectrum. The bid price is being funded by a mix of debt and shareholder equity.
The Iraq telecommunications market is one of the most dynamic in the region. With a population of 27 million and a mobile penetration of 37% delivering 10 million active subscribers, the GSM market is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years.
Basil Al Rahim, Managing Partner of MerchantBridge said: “We have had a long and fruitful working relationship with Asiacell and are pleased to have been instrumental in the winning of this important license. We believe the addition of Qtel to our consortium will make us into a much stronger competitor and will help us grow our network and service offering rapidly.”
Faruk Rasool, Chairman Asiacell Iraq, said: “We are very pleased to have won a long term national license to operate in Iraq, although we have already built a strong and competitive operation across much of the country. We are eager to rollout rapidly into new areas and are happy to be partnering with our friends in MerchantBridge and Qtel, one of the region’s most ambitious operators. We are confident that we will expand our network and range of services to raise the standard of communication available to Iraqis nationwide.”
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman of Qtel Group said: “Qtel is very excited to be active in such a vibrant and growing market. Our intention is to become one of the region’s leading operators and to bring the benefits of belonging to our Group to each of our operations. We have been impressed with Chairman Faruk’s Asiacell for a long time and are very aware of the contribution he has made to the development of GSM in Iraq. We are all looking forward to working with Asiacell to help it become Iraq’s most successful GSM operator.”
MerchantBridge, which is regulated and authorised by the FSA, is a leading investment bank and advisory group focused on providing independent and customised services primarily for the MENA and Europe regions. Headquartered in Luxembourg but with offices in London, Dubai, Riyadh, Geneva and Baghdad MerchantBridge offers companies and governments corporate and project finance; private equity and real estate; offset and government advisory; and asset management.
Asiacell Iraq is a national network with a majority Iraqi ownership and 3.7 million subscribers, delivering strong EBITDA growth. Started in 1999, it is a GSM pioneer in Iraq and has built Iraq’s largest network with over 1,000 sites. In addition, it has a staff of 3,700, many of whom trained in Asiacell’s advanced headquarters facility in Kurdistan.
Qtel is a substantial telecoms operator in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia region and is very keen to contribute to the success of the Asiacell Consortium and expects to deliver operational benefits including procurement economies, access to products and services, preferential roaming agreements, IT platforms and best practice in many operational areas. Qtel is the exclusive telecommunications provider in Qatar. Its principal activities include local and international fixed telephone, mobile, Internet, data and cable television services. The Qtel Group has a total mobile subscriber base of 9.3 million; with the consolidation of Asiacell subscribers Qtel now has an approximate subscriber base of 13 million.
