Tunisie Telecom

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In April 2006 the government of Tunisia sold a 35% stake in national telecom company Tunisie Telecom to a consortium of Tecom and Dubai Investment Group. In 2006 Tunisie Telecom had some 3.4 million mobile subscribers and 1.2 million fixed line subscribers in a population of over 10 million. The company had no competition in the fixed line market, and shared the mobile market with Tunisiana (project 2971). Tecom-DIG won a competitive international tender in March 2006 with a bid of $2.25. Twelve consortia initially made bids for the 35% stake. In April 2006 a binding share purchasing agreement was signed. Tecom and Dubai Investment Group (DIG) were both part of Dubai Holding, an investment group owned by the government of Dubai. The group had some 20 subsidiaries that covered a broad range of activities such as real estate, hospitality, finance, healthcare, energy, research, education, entertainment, media, internet, tourism and biotechnology. The project reached financial closure on July 17th, 2006. The $2.25 billion were obtained through a syndicate loan subscribed by over 40 banks. Approximately half of the lenders were from the Middle East. Emirates Bank and Standard Chartered Bank were the mandated lead arrangers. Tecom-DIG had an option to purchase a further 16% in Tunisie Telecom. No information on 2011 investments was available by July 2012.