Zain Group began due diligence on a $1.3 billion offer for its mobile and ICT managed services businesses in Sudan made by a subsidiary of local conglomerate Dal Group.

In a stock market statement, Zain revealed it had received the bid for mobile operation Zain Sudan and its sister managed services company Kuwait Sudanese Holdings from Dal Group subsidiary Invictus Holdings.

Dal Group is a business based in Sudan with a diverse range of domestic interests spanning the agriculture, energy, mining, healthcare, consumer goods and automotive sectors.

Zain noted it was conducting due diligence on the offer before deciding whether to initially approve the deal.

It also clarified the deal did not include Zain’s business in South Sudan, a country which became independent several years after the operator began providing services to its citizens. Its operation in the new country was subsequently spun-off into a separate division.

Devaluation
In Zain’s financial statements for each of the first three quarters of 2021 it has bemoaned currency devaluation in Sudan as negatively impacting earnings.

However, in Q3 it also pointed to positive subscriber additions in the market and changes being made to its pricing structure in an attempt to mitigate foreign exchange losses.