Zamtel

distressed

In June 2010, Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) announced that Libya's LAP Green had won the bid to acquire a 75% stake in Zambia Telecommunications Company Limited (Zamtel) from the government. Zamtel was the historic fixed line national telecom monopoly and had 90,341 subscirber as of June 2010. LAP Green agreed to pay US$257 million for the 75% equity stake in Zamtel and an additional US$62 million for part of the network expansion programme. The award followed a competitive bidding process. The government also announced that it would retain a minimum 25% stake in the company and reserve the right to sell it through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Lusaka Stock Exchange. In July 2010, Zamtel embarked on an aggressive investment program of USD 170 million, the first phase which was focused on expanding the GSM network coverage and grew the number of GSM base stations from 197 to 440 by November 2011. A 3G network is currently being deployed in all the major cities across the country. The new government of Zambia took back control of Zamtel in December 2011, dissolving the board of the company. LAP Green challenged the government's decision in court.