Is Mobilink Acquiring Warid?

Thanks to our friends at Phone World Magazine, market is abuzz with rumors of merger / acquisition between Mobilink and Warid and we have been asked by some of our readers about the situation.

We think that news has nothing in it to meet our reporting criteria and hence below is more like a commentary and some information that may clear our readers about the whole situation.

Warid’s marriage with other operators has long been discussed. Few substantial efforts were also made but things didn’t turn positive. Telenor, Mobilink, Zong, PTCL and Ufone have all tried to acquire Warid at different times but they couldn’t close deal with Dhabi Group, the sole and cent percent owner of Warid Telecom.

We have heard several times of negotiations between Warid and other telecom groups, couple of them reaching at very advance stage, but all deals fell apart due to one reason or the other. Mainly due to price that was offered to Dhabi Group.

So, given the track record and as an industry expert wanted to put it, you just can’t say anything regarding Warid with certainty until a sale purchase agreement is signed and announced officially.

Currently, our sources close to top management of Mobilink tell that there’s nothing like what has been in the rumors. Even the decision for showing intent hasn’t been taken, which means due diligence process hasn’t started and Mobilink is almost no-where in acquiring Warid.

There’s nothing one can say with surety about the future but what we are certain about is that there are no on-going talks between Mobilink and Warid as of today

A high-level source in Mobilink, who often interacts with VimpelCom on various matters, confirmed me that there is no go-ahead from VimpelCom (parent group of Mobilink) at all we can’t have it before mid-September.

“If there’s anything about Warid-Mobilink deal, it could be nothing more than an intent at Mobilink headquarters that may translate into a proposal which will take at least 45 days for a go-ahead from VimpelCom”, said our source who works with Mobilink.

Talking of intents, several other operators have it and we are just not sure about the outcome of Mobilink’s as of yet.

We believe that the deal, if gets through, will be good for both operators. Moblink will be able to increase its lead with Telenor, and it will have 4G network deployed even before they purchase a license that they are considering to acquire during next auction.

Not to mention, this amount of lead and several million customers are not possible to attain through conventional means, all thanks to mandatory biometric verification system in place, increased competition, capex on network expansion and growing tele-density.

With the deal, Mobilink can get a lot of customers with almost same marketing and sales cost that they will have to spend otherwise (without acquiring Warid) to eventually gain a lot lesser number of customers. So getting Warid on-board will be a plus for Mobilink. On top of this, they will get quality, loyal and high-ARPU customers, that are naturally going to help Mobilink recover its balance sheets that are little jolted these days.

While considering the positive sides, we are also little skeptical about VimpelCom’s spending muscle. They are struggling lately in finances and otherwise too, all thanks to its relationship with Telenor (part owner of VimpelCom) due to some scandals and the legal battle they have been fighting in few markets.

Warid’s debts are also a concern and it will be extremely hard for any operator to close the deal with contentment for both parties. But this one point can turn into bone of contention between both the groups.

For Warid, if deals go through, this can be the the happy ending that are wishing for a long now. Warid, after years of uncertainty, will be able to pick up the real strength it has got: quality network and loyal customers.

P.S. Warid and Mobilink management have lately met for some other one of its kind project that they are planning to do together. We will tell you of it when its through. Its altogether a different thing from merger / acquisition but chances are that someone misread the meetings.

But yes, there is also a chance that management meetings for a different agenda might end up with acquisition talks, who knows?

As we said above, there’s nothing one can say with surety about the future but what we are certain about is that there are no on-going talks between Mobilink and Warid for an acquisition as of today.

Tech and telecom reporter for over 15 years


  • Vimpelcom will take 70 to 80 shares of Warid and initially Warid will remain separate entity.

  • Mobilink should first improve their dialup speed 3g before talking about 4g offering to customers.

      • low g pehla band dekha hai jo mobilink kay 3g ki tareef kr raha hai.

        i think he switched from dialup to mobilink 3g…lol

        • Lo ! Phir Dusra Bhi Dekh Lo Mobilink 3g Is Best In Multan Kabhi Bhi 7 Mb Sy Kam Speed Nahi Ati Puray City Ma And In Night It Goes Up To 10 Mbs :)

          • Bhai mn bhi multan mn hoon aur mobilink ka user hn . Worst 3g ha mobiljnk ka . Speed door kj baat adhe multan mn signal nhn aate. Aur har waqt edge aur 3g pe convert hota rehta ha .zong is best

  • ye article aese he ha jese kabi newspaper hua kerty thay.
    aik khabar lagti boht bari or nechy uski lambi detail or akhri line hoti k jub hamara naimainda wahan poncha to pta chala k khabar jhot ha.iska maqsad hota tha jaga puri kerna jo yahan b bs aik shosha chorna tha to ye article likh dia

      • bhai ap ghusa ker gay na.
        jub reporting criteria nahi to nechay pura essay likh dia na.
        mera bat kernay ka maqsad ye tha k rumours ki reporting kerni nahi chahye or yehi professionalism hota hai.
        article k end py likh dete “Musalmano tukkay lagao” to main chup rehta

      • discussing rumors is not professionalism sir. If it was below reporting standard then simply no need to wrote whole story jis ke end pay banda puchay zulekha mard thi k aurat.
        likhna tha to end pay ikhtay na Musalmano tukkay lagao, to main kuch na kehta

  • News is 100% true. It is not only Warid but Nayatel that is been finalized by Mobilink. Soon Nayatel will be coming to other cities under Mobilink banner and Mobilink will launch 4G under Warid. All Warid 3G customers will move onto Mobilink network and Mobilink valuable customers who want 4G will move to Warid bandwidth. This is a bold step by Vimplecom strategy group and it will create a lot of competition for fixed line and mobile companies. I also heard many companies already know about this and will be aiming for Warid and Nayatel customers with big bucks!!!

      • All warid users are 4g they r not 3g.

        What is viplecom doin btw creating a monopoly or wat 1st telenor than warid.

  • Dear Warid please don not degrade ur standards.If ur going to sell ur self then go ahead and do it and if not then plz concentrate on ur poor area that is marketing.dont loose ur self respect

  • Warid would lose its quality and so its customers if this happened…. No other network can provide u with the luxury of smooth finest communication…. Being a warid customer I just hope And pray that this should never happen

    • I also second ur opinion but mobilink will be the second option Of many warid users.

  • It’s going to happen to all Telecom Companies one day. As soon as Embedded Sims and Project Fi type models are commercialized by big guns such as Google, Microsoft and Apple. All operators will be packing their bags, either being bought out or going bankrupt. Maybe perhaps they’ll go into other ventures but their glory days are going to end soon either way.

    • Basically Pakistanis who now have to lick the boots of the Norwegians and Arabs will now have to do so of the Americans. Wait, sorry we’ve been doing that for the last 50 years.

      Successive governments have done nothing to promote Pakistanis. I would support Nationalization of the Telecom industry. It is better that Government of Pakistan own and run these businesses and stop the extraction of Pakistanis wealth than allow foreign telecom companies many owned by foreign governments to do this. This is the only alternative left for Pakistani ownership since the Pakistani entrepreneur simply cannot compete and if they do they are burdened with stupid taxes and bureaucratic procedures while the red carpet is rolled out for the foreigners.

      • nationalize? hahahah Pakistan ki industry ka isi vjah se tabah hui thi. masla ye he ki qanoon yahan aik rakhel ki tarah he, jis ki pohonch he us tk vo usay ****** he. simple. otherwise check & balance ho or accountability ho to jurrat nae he pvt institutes ki k vo apni defined boundaries ko cross krn. but again this is Pakistan.

        • Guys here is the real news as Telenor is ready to buy 63 percent shares in Warid Telecom, Pakistan against USD 1.3 billion, as confirmed by Atifa Asghar under the cover

          As per sources, that are multiple in number, said that whole talks went through in a smooth way, especially when Telenor agreed on paying the value that was pretty acceptable for Dhabi Group. Final discussions went through last week in Abu Dhabi when Telenor’s top management was there to finalize the matters.

          Sources further confirmed that buyout will remain under cover until certain requirements are met, including clearance of liabilities and certain amount of expense cut in Waird. Hard one, but a fact can be certain job cuts in Warid in next 2 weeks.

          It merits mentioning here that Singtel had tried buying remaining 70 percent stakes in Warid, back in July 2009, however, deal couldn’t close then due to value differences.

          Story is developing, stay tuned for more information and analysis on this.

  • This is posted on ZONG FB Page.What is it ? Is Zong going for something BIG ? What aamir7 ?

  • I saw many people here talking abt mobilink network and 3G speed .. im in karachi and this is i usually get from Mobilink

  • Mobilink’s signal coverage is getting worst day by day after 3G launch. They should first improve their network coverage then try to acquire another company.


  • Get Alerts

    Follow ProPakistani to get latest news and updates.


    ProPakistani Community

    Join the groups below to get latest news and updates.



    >