Three people who have knowledge about the discussion have revealed that Morgan Stanley or MS is not among the bookrunners for the public offering of Asiacell, Iraqi telecom operator majority is owned by the Qatar Telecom QSC.
Though Morgan Stanley will still be an adviser about the deal, this US bank won’t be managing the share of Asiacell’s share, the reason behind this is the dearth of client base in Iraq where the demand for IPO is the most. This information has been provided by one of those three people.
Originally the New York based bank Morgan Stanley has hired along with HSBC Holding PLc as the managers for the IPO and that can happen in the next month at the earliest. This information has been provided by two people, but they have requested to keep their identities under wraps, as all these plans are private. Thos people said that the IPO of Asiacell which is the first mobile operator of the country can earn about $1 billion from the sale of 25% of the total amount of stakes in the company and it will become the biggest in the country.
A Baghdad based brokerage firm Rabee Securities has been managing the IPOs of Asiacell too.
The Stake has been doubled
Doha based Qatar telecom which is also known as Qtel has agreed to double the stake this year in the Iraqi mobile operator Asiacell. The stake will reach up to 60% and the amount of money will be $1.47 billion. Qtel is a company which has stakes in companies ranging from Tunisia to Indonesia has grown outside its home market and it is now facing competition from Vodafone Qatar.
An official from the London office of Morgan Stanley denied commenting along with the Qtel Spokesman.
According to the Baghdad based bourse, if the IPO becomes successful, then it will be able to double the market capitalization of the Iraq Stock Exchange. The worth of the IPO at present is about $4 billion.
Qtel Chief Executive Officer Nasser Marafih had said in June that the total number of users of Asiacell will be 9.5 million.
Emadd Makiya, the former chief executive officer of Mobile Telecommunication Co. of Kuwait has informed in April that, Zain Iraq, and unit of this company and the main competition of Asiacell, is planning to go public in the market of Iraq, this year itself. Makiya has quitted his job last month.
Source [Bloomberg]