Etisalat was in Buyout Talks with Nayatel/Micronet

Etisalat was in takeover talks with Nayatel, a local internet service provider based in Islamabad/Rawalpindi, reported Reuters.

Nayatel confirmed ProPakistani that Etisalat was indeed in talks with Nayatel for buyout of its DSL/Fiber-optic operations. However, talks remained inconclusive and are over now due to price differences from both the sides.

Local internet service provider companies are facing tough competition from PTCL, probably a reason that Micronet had to close its broadband operations for at least 3 exchanges in Islamabad recently.

When asked by ProPakistani about possible merger with any other ISP in Pakistan, company said that it won’t merge/sell its operations with any local operator. However, it might consider a foreign but potentially strong investor.

Nayatel is hoping to expand its domestic business beyond Islamabad and Rawalpindi to Lahore and Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi, which has an estimated population of 18 million.

Earlier, quoting Mr. Rashid Khan, the chairman of Nayatel, Reuters had reported that Etisalat wanted to buyout DSL and fiber-optic internet operations of Nayatel.

According to Reuters, annual sales among its 7,000 customers top $12 million, said Khan, with revenue growth of 40-50 percent a year.

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