VIVA Bahrain inks deal with KFH to acquire Menatelecom

Manama : VIVA Bahrain, a fully owned subsidiary of the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC), yesterday announced signing a definitive agreement to buy 100 per cent stake in Menatelecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of KFH-Bahrain. 

The transaction is expected to be completed in early January 2018. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“It is time to exit to an industry player like VIVA which is a very capable telecom player not only in Bahrain but across the region,” said Managing Director and CEO of KFH-Bahrain, Abdulhakeem Al-Khayyat, commenting on the deal.  

“Not only Menatelecom has a valuable asset, but also, more importantly, a capable human resource team which competed well in a highly competitive market and, therefore, I would like to thank them for their efforts during KFH’s investment tenure,” he added. 

The acquisition, VIVA Bahrain’s CEO Ulaiyan Al Wetaid said, will significantly enhance its position in both the consumer broadband and enterprise markets. 

“While we have achieved strong and sustainable growth in the Kingdom of Bahrain over the past seven years, Menatelecom’s successful position in the home broadband segment will be a key growth driver for VIVA,” he added. 

VIVA, which launched its commercial services in March 2010, celebrated its seven years of success in Bahrain recently. The company is also the first operator in Bahrain to provide speeds of up to 42 Mbps to its broadband subscribers and to test successfully and showcase its 4G/LTE network in early 2012, officially launching 4G/LTE services to customers in January 2014.

Established in 2003, Menatelecom provides a full spectrum of telecommunication solutions which include a comprehensive array of IP Telephony services, High-Speed Internet, and Data Services using state-of-the-art 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The company says it offers broadband internet services to over  80,000 subscribers.