Etisalat buys out ADFD's stake in Maroc Telecom
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Etisalat buys out ADFD's stake in Maroc Telecom

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UAE-based Etisalat has increased its stake in Maroc Telecom from 48.4% to 53%, according to a regulatory filing it posted on Tuesday.

The stake, previously owned by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), will set Etisalat back by US$505 million.

Signing off the regulatory statement, group CFO Karim Bennis, said the transaction will "positively impact" net profits.

Etisalat took a controlling stake in Maroc Telecom in 2014 for €4.2 billion, which it covered with finance. The government did own 30% of the telco but announced plans to reduce this in 2019, the first step in its privatisation plan.

The same year, Maroc Telecom said it would invest more than $1 billion in expanding high-speed fixed and mobile broadband. Under a deal with the Moroccan government, the company said it will spend the money over the next three years.

Last week, Etisalat said it would start to turn off 2G reception in its native UAE from the end of next year. The frequencies and bands utilised by the 2G network will be allocated to more advanced networks.

For ADFD's part, Morocco is one of 19 beneficiary Arab countries across which it currently has 346 projects valued at AED61 billion.

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