Cleary Gottlieb is representing Warid Telecom International, led by a consortium of investors, owner of Warid Telecom Pakistan LLC (“WTPL”), in the merger of WTPL’s subsidiary Warid Telecom with Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (“Mobilink”).
Mobilink is owned by VimpelCom. The transaction, which was announced on November 26, 2015, is the first merger in the mobile telecommunications sector in Pakistan.
Mobilink and Warid are, respectively, the largest and fifth largest mobile operators in Pakistan by market share. The transaction is expected to create synergies with a net present value of approximately $500 million. The combined revenue of both companies for the 12 months to September 2015 was $1.4 billion. The combined business will serve over 45 million customers.
As part of the transaction, Mobilink will acquire 100% of Warid’s shares from WTPL and Bank Alfalah Limited in consideration for approximately 15% of the shares of Mobilink. The transaction is subject to complex regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 2016. In a second stage of the deal, it is expected that the businesses of Warid and Mobilink will be merged to form one combined entity.