Zain holder, Etisalat to ink due diligence accord

KUWAIT: Major Zain shareholder Kharafi Group and Etisalat will sign an initial agreement on Wednesday to start due diligence for a deal to sell 46 percent of Zain to Etisalat, al-Qabas daily reported.

Etisalat said in October that it will only determine if its offer price for Zain is valid after completing a due diligence process.

The newspaper said it learned the signing will take place in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, adding the due diligence was expected to take about six weeks or less.

Etisalat, the Gulf's second-largest telecom operator by market value, last month bid 1.7 Kuwaiti dinars a share for a 46 percent stake in Zain in a deal worth just under $12 billion.

The bid won the backing of Kharafi Group, which began gathering a consortium of shareholders to tender to the offer.