Qtel becomes owner of 92.1% stake in Kuwait's Wataniya 

(MENAFN) Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has confirmed it increased its shareholding in Kuwait's Wataniya to 92.1 percent, following the close of its tender offer, Reuters reported.

Qtel said in a statement that it paid USD1.8 billion to raise its stake from 52.5 percent. However it did not mention from whom it bought the shares.

The Qatari company added that stakeholders tendering their shares will be paid within about three weeks, pending approval by the Kuwait Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The CMA previously approved the offer in August.

By closing the deal, Qtel, which operates in 16 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, will tighten its control over Wataniya, which has operations in Algeria, Tunisia, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Territories.

Qtel bought a controlling Wataniya stake in 2007 but has been seeking full control to capitalize on the company's weak share price and growth prospects in emerging markets such as Algeria and Tunisia.