Citic Telecom makes US$1bn Macau acquisition

Mainland-owned telecommunication vendor Citic Telecom International Holdings (1883.HKG) will acquire 79%  of a Macau phone operator for US$1.16 billion, Bloomberg reported. Citic Telecom, owned by China’s largest state-owned investment firm CITIC Group, will buy 51% of Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau from Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC.LON) for US$749.7 million, Citic stated in a stock exchange filing on Sunday. The company will purchase a further 28% of the target from Portugal Telecom (PT.NYSE, PTC.ELI) for US$411.6 million, according to the statement. Citic will finance the purchases with working capital and new bank loans, the statement said. “The business strategy for CITIC Telecom has been to expand its telecommunication businesses in Greater China,” the company said. The deal is subject to government approval.