Offer for Wataniya is USD2.3bn, source says

The amount offered last week by Qatar Telecom (Qtel) to purchase the remaining shares it does not own in Kuwait-based unit Wataniya Telecom was approximately USD2.3 billion, the Al-Rai newspaper reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Qtel tabled a bid for the 47.5% stake of KWD640 million (USD2.28 billion), or KWD2.67 per share, the newspaper said. This would make the offer total higher than initial estimates of around USD1.9 billion based on Wataniya’s market capitalisation of USD3.97 billion.