Saudi Telecom agrees $3 bln deal to buy into Maxis

Saudi Telecom Co., battling growing competition in its home market, said it would buy the stake by investing in Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan's firm Binariang, Maxis Communications' largest shareholder.

Krishnan has teamed up with other Maxis shareholders to buy the 41 percent of Maxis they do not own in a $4.7 billion bid that will be southeast Asia's biggest buyout.

Analysts have said the deal was prompted by the huge capital demands of Maxis's overseas expansion plan, which could run into resistance from other shareholders.

Saudi Telecom, controlled by the government of the world's largest oil exporter, will invest in the expansion drive after the acquisition, the company said in a statement.

Its part of the deal, which it valued at 11.4 billion riyals ($3.04 billion) would see Saudi Telecom take a 51 percent stake in Maxis's Indonesian unit Natrindo.

Saudi Telecom and Binariang's other shareholder will together underwrite a $900 million loan to expand in India where Maxis operates through its Aircel unit, the statement said.

"This transaction represents an important step for the company's drive to become an influential player in the global telecoms sector," Saudi Telecom Chairman Mohammed al-Jasser was quoted as saying in the statement.

It did not say exactly how much it would pay for the stake in Maxis.

Saudi Telecom shares rose 2.83 percent when trading began in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. They were up 2.43 percent at 0853 GMT.