Qtel takes majority holding in Asiacell Qtel, Qatar's state telecommunications company, is set to become the majority shareholder in Asiacell, the Iraqi mobile operator that is preparing for its initial public offering in Baghdad. Qtel has reached an agreement to pay $1.47bn to increase its stake in Asiacell to 60 per cent from 30 per cent, the Doha-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. The deal will require regulatory approval. "This acquisition is in line with our long-term strategy of active portfolio development through which we seek to increase our ownership in companies with significant potential," said Qtel's chairman Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani. In late 2010, the company spent $1.2bn acquiring a controlling stake in its Tunisian subsidiary, buying out its Egyptian joint-venture partner, Orascom Telecom. In expanding its Asiacell investment, Qtel consolidates its control over a subsidiary that has become a cornerstone of the group. Since first moving outside Qatar in 2005, the company has expanded to 17 countries and now earns less than a fifth of its revenues domestically. Asiacell is one of the company's largest sources of revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, contributing 19 per cent and 22 per cent of the group total, respectively, in 2011. Of Qtel's 83.4m customers almost 9m are in Iraq, the company said in its most recent annual report. The network is one of three Iraqi mobile operators that are required by the terms of their licences to sell at least 25 per cent of their shares to the public soon. Bankers have estimated that the deals could be worth more than $3bn in total and could be transformative for the fledgling Iraqi stock exchange where daily trading volumes averaged less than $3m in 2011. The IPOs, originally expected last year, have been delayed by bureaucratic hurdles and regulatory complications, as well as concerns among company shareholders that the small Iraqi bourse may not be ready for such large offerings and could undervalue the companies. While the Iraqi market remains clouded by political risk and a lack of clarity on long-term economic policy, it remains an attractive bet for telecoms operators. Less than 80 per cent of the population own a mobile phone compared with penetration rates of around 100 per cent for its Arab neighbours. The deal will be financed by existing funds, the company said.