By Una Galani

DUBAI, April 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) – The Abu Dhabi
carrier is throwing indebted Jet Airways a $600 mln lifeline for
a 24 pct stake and control of its loyalty programme. But the
generous 32 pct premium suggests Etihad will expect more than a
minority role at the Indian airline.

Full view will be published shortly.

CONTEXT NEWS

- Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad Airways has agreed to buy a
24 percent stake in India’s Jet Airways as part of a deal worth
$600 million. Eithad will pay $379 million to buy 27.3 million
shares at 754.74 rupees each or a 32 percent premium to the
Indian carrier’s last closing share price.

By Una Galani

DUBAI (Reuters Breakingviews) – A scarcity of takeover targets is feeding a desperate scramble in Middle East telecoms M&A. Bahrain’s incumbent operator Batelco BTEL.BH is eyeing a stake in the enterprise unit of Reliance Communications(RLCM.NS: Quote , Profile , Research ). It comes just months after agreeing a deal worth $1 billion to buy assets spanning 12 markets, including Monaco and the Channel Islands, from Cable & Wireless. Batelco’s pick-and-mix takeovers are symptomatic of a market where too many big telcos are chasing too few assets.

Batelco is in search of stable cash flows amid fierce competition in its home market. Bahrain accounts for 60 percent of revenue but profit there fell by almost one-third in 2012. Cash flow is weakening and the cash dividend payout ratio has fallen from 75 to 60 percent in just two years.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own.)

By Una Galani

DUBAI, March 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) – The controversy
over the true value of Prince Alwaleed’s investment vehicle has
some simple remedies. Kingdom Holding 4280.SE, with stakes in
everything from Citigroup (C.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) to Twitter, is at the centre of
a bitter row with Forbes magazine over the exact size of the
prince’s wealth. Part of the problem is that the Riyadh-listed
company suffers from a tiny free float, limited liquidity, and
puzzling share-price movements.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own.)

(Refiles to fix location in dateline)

By Una Galani

DUBAI, Feb 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Qatar’s sovereign
wealth fund may regret spinning off part of its business. The
Gulf emirate known for snapping up high-profile stakes in
publicly listed entities is giving ordinary investors a chance
to get a piece of the action. That, though, opens up the
absolute monarchy to one risk it loathes: public criticism.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own)

By Una Galani

DUBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Politics will play a
major part in the sale of Maroc Telecom (IAM.CS: Quote , Profile , Research ). Vivendi
(VIV.PA: Quote , Profile , Research ), the French media and telecom conglomerate, is in
shrinking mode. It hasn’t had any trouble drumming up interest
from far-flung corners of the world for its 53 percent stake in
the listed North African telecoms operator. Qatar Telecom
QTEL.QA, the UAE’s Etisalat ETEL.AD and South Korea’s KT
Corp (030200.KS: Quote , Profile , Research ), have all submitted expressions of interest.
And France Telecom (FTE.PA: Quote , Profile , Research ) is also keeping an eye on the sale.

By Andy Mukherjee and Una Galani

SINGAPORE, Dec 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is spoilt for choice in India: It could decide to be a white knight to billionaire Vijay Mallya’s beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines. Or the Gulf carrier could snap up a smaller stake in Jet Airways, which controls a quarter of the domestic Indian market. The latter looks the better bet.

On the face of it Kingfisher, whose market value is about one-fourth of Jet’s $960 million, is the cheaper option. It also offers the tempting prospect that Etihad could gain effective operational control through a 46 percent shareholding. But Kingfisher carries additional risks. Its licence was suspended by India’s aviation regulator in October and its employees haven’t been paid for months. Kingfisher’s stripped-down fleet of 12 aircraft is one-eighth of Jet’s capacity.

By Andy Mukherjee and Una Galani

SINGAPORE (Reuters Breakingviews) – Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is spoilt for choice in India: it could decide to be a white knight to billionaire Vijay Mallya’s beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines (KING.NS: Quote , Profile , Research ). Or the Gulf carrier could snap up a smaller stake in Jet Airways (JET.NS: Quote , Profile , Research ), which controls a quarter of the domestic Indian market. The latter looks the better bet.

On the face of it Kingfisher, whose market value is about one-fourth of Jet’s $960 million, is the cheaper option. It also offers the tempting prospect that Etihad could gain effective operational control through a 46 percent shareholding. But Kingfisher carries additional risks. Its licence was suspended by the aviation regulator in October and its employees haven’t been paid for months. Kingfisher’s stripped-down fleet of 12 aircraft is one-eighth of Jet’s capacity.