Etisalat in Acquisition of 50% Stake in Atlantique Telecom

Cleary Gottlieb represented United Arab Emirates telecommunications company Etisalat in the acquisition of a 50% stake in West African mobile operator Atlantique Telecom. The transaction expands Etisalat’s growing presence in Africa.

The transaction was implemented through the acquisition of shares by Etisalat from the majority shareholder of Atlantique Telecom and a capital increase reserved to Etisalat.

A 60% state-owned enterprise, Etisalat is one of the leading service providers in the Middle East. In the past decade, Etisalat expanded its GSM network subscriber base from 130,000 to more than 3 million.

Atlantique Telecom holds a majority interest in several GSM network operators in West and Central Africa.