Kuwait Viva's financial adviser says STC offer price ‘fair’

Financial adviser Protiviti, which was hired by Kuwait Telecom Co. (Viva) to conduct a valuation for its shares, has said Saudi Telecom Co.’s (STC) offer to buy Viva’s remaining stake at SAR 12.37 (KWD 1 per share) is “fair.”

Earlier this month, STC, which already owns 26 percent of Viva, submitted an offer to acquire the remaining 74 percent of the Kuwaiti telco’s shares — a move that has been dubbed as credit positive by Moody’s Investors Service and other regional firms.

Last week, Kuwait’s Capital Market Authority (CMA), the country’s market regulator, approved STC’s offer, according to data compiled by Argaam.

The Kuwaiti telco was established in July 2008 with a capital of KWD 49.94 million divided into 499.4 million shares. The company was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in December 2014 as the country’s third mobile operator.