Etisalat bids to buy 46 pct in Kuwait's Zain

DUBAI: Emirates Telcommunications Corp (Etisalat) has offered to buy 46 percent of Kuwait's Zain, CNBC Arabiya said on Wednesday, in a deal that would be worth $11.8 billion.

Etisalat had offered 1.7 dinars per share for the stake, the Arabic language channel said. Zain shares rose to a four-month high after the report.

CNBC Arabia gave no further details and did not cite a source. It said National Bank of Kuwait  was an advisor to Etisalat and BNP Paribas was advising Zain majority shareholder, Kharafi Group.

Executives at both Abu Dhabi's Etisalat and Zain were not immediately available for comment.

"If this is fact and not just rumour, the market will perform very well over the next month because it will be a huge deal," said Essa al-Hasawi, assistant manager at Zumorroda Investment Co in Kuwait.

In June, Etisalat, the Gulf Arab region's second-largest telecoms firm, said it had not made any proposal to buy a stake in Zain, after a newspaper report said the two were in talks.

Zain offloaded its African assets earlier this year in a $9 billion deal with India's Bharti Airtel .

Zain shares rose 7.9 percent to 1.36 dinars after Wednesday's report, its highest level since May 27, outpeforming Kuwait's index .KWSE.

Etisalat's shares rose 0.9 percent, slightly outperforming Abu Dhabi's bourse .ADI.