Telecom M&A Buzz March 2010

Based on True Rumors

Bharti – Zain
Bharti signed agreement to acquire Zain Africa asset in 15 countries at enterprise value of $ 10. 7 Billion ( Growth Strategy)…Mar 30, 2010

France Telecom
Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) has signed a management contract with France Telecom, putting the running of the state-owned operator in the hands of a foreign firm (Operation Improvement)…Mar 24, 2010
Target double sales in emerging market by 2015 (Growth Strategy)
Acquisition Candidates in MEA – Millicom, MTN, Orascom
Acquisition Candidates in India, SEA – (Economics of Assets -License)

Telenor
Looking for Sell Off?...Reading between the lines ( Operation Improvement)
Telenor Pakistan CEO said there are too many operators in Pakistan and that’s a problem as none of the parties have sufficient income to invest in 3G network. There are 5 operators in the country, and Abdullah thinks that’s two too much. (Rumor: Acquiring Warid and then sell it to China Mobile)...Mar 18, 2010
Didn’t bid for India 3G Auction (Is Uninor for sell off at later stage?)…Mar 22, 2010

Etisalat
May take M&A route in India. Target – Idea, Reliance, Aircel ( Economics of Subscribers) …Mar 10, 2010


T-Mobile
T-Mobile May acquire Clearwire ( Economics of Assets – Spectrum)…Mar 18, 2010

TelkomFlexi
Telkom Indonesia CDMA unit considering merger with another CDMA Operator Bakrie Esia ( Economics of Subscribers )…Mar 26, 2010

Kosovo Telecom
Kosovo expects to launch a PTK tender by June and announce the winner in August . ( Privatization – Operation Improvement)…Mar 29, 2010
Investors conference on the tender was attended by companies including Hrvatski Telecom, which is part of Deutsche Telekom, Telekom Austria, Orascom Telecom from Egypt, Cable and Wireless of Britain

MTN - NetOne
MTN's planned acquisition of a 49% stake in Zimbabwe's state-owned cellular network NetOne may collapse ( Privatization – Operation Improvement)…Mar 29, 2010

Zamtel - BSNL
Zamtel ( Privatization – Operation Improvement)
BSNL , MTNL withdraws from Zamtel Privatization bid after carrying out due diligence ( Mar 14, 2010)

BSNL, MTNL
Merger Speculation ( Economics of Coverage)

­MTS – Telkom Austria
Russia's Sistema Group is reported to be looking to buy Telekom Austria Group in a deal worth in excess of US$6 billion ( Growth Strategy)…Mar 28, 2010
Telekom Austria has operations in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Serbia, Macedonia, Belarus and Czech Republic

Vodafone -Verizon
Vodafone has been considering three options on Verizon Wireless: securing a resumption of dividend payments, selling its stake, or merging with Verizon Communications. (Growth and Dividend Strategy)...Mar 29,2010

Vodafone TDC
The Nordic partnership agreement between Vodafone and Danish mobile operator TDC has been extended by the both the telcos. Sweden and Norway are included in the non-equity partner market contract along with the existing agreement covering Denmark( Pre Acquisition Strategy)…Mar 31, 2010

Vivendi – Vodafone
Vivendi's CEO, Jean-Bernard Levy said that he would like to buy out Vodafone's 44% stake in their French mobile network joint venture, SFR estimated at $9.2 Billion ( Financial Rationale)…Mar 22, 2010

Vimpelcom - Millicom
Millicom announced that Vimpelcom has not completed the agreement to acquire its 74.1 percent stake in Millicom Lao, despite all conditions having been met. (Economics of Assets – License)...Mar 31, 2010

U Mobile
­Singapore's ST Telemedia, a unit of the Singapore government's Temasek Holdings is buying a one-third stake in Malaysia's U Mobile for an undisclosed amount ( Asset Trading – License & Spectrum)…Mar 30, 2010-04-02

Softbank – Willcom
Softbank to acquire Willcom and gain 4 Million subscribers and 2.5 GHz spectrum ( Economics of Assets – Spectrum)…Mar 15, 2010

Walmartization (Economics of Access)
China Mobile investment in Shanghai Pudong Bank…Mar 13, 2010
Orascom wants to buy Microfinance bank in Pakistan…Mar 11, 2010