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The combined entity will turn it into a $100m technology solutions company
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Kalaam will be among the top three ISPs in the GCC and the only operator with an ISP license for Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
Kalaam Telecom, Bahrain’s leading technology solutions provider, has announced the acquisition of Zajil International Telecom Co., one of Kuwait’s longest-established ISP and ICT services companies.
The acquisition will create a combined entity with a revenue of US$100 million, with data centers in five countries, network Point of Presence (PoPs) in 25 countries, and a subsea and land cable network that connects three continents.
Kalaam will be among the top three ISPs in the GCC and will be the only operator with an ISP license for Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Given UAE’s position as a regional technology hub and with Kalaam’s stronger team presence in UAE, Kalaam aims to create strong partnerships with system integrators (SIs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs) to better serve enterprise customers in the country as well as the wider GCC region.
Nezar Al Saie, chairman of Kalaam Telecom, said the acquisition of Zajil empowers the company to become a full stack one-stop, end-to-end solutions provider of choice for the local and regional enterprise market and the international wholesale business.
“Kalaam has impressively evolved from being a pure ISP to becoming a 360-degree digital solutions provider, building a full stack Industry customized ecosystem of ICT solutions, including Cloud, Security, Data Center, IOT, AI and Unified communications for its customers,” he added.
Al Saie said Kalaam’s terrestrial fiber cable system, KNOT, which spans 1,400 km across the GCC and Zajil’s consortium ownership in the Europe India Gateway, a 15,000 km international fiber optic submarine cable system that links 12 countries across three continents, will enable the combined group to offer secure and fast access to its customers.
The combined network will provide a footprint in 25 countries in MENA, Europe, the US and Asia with 53 fully-owned Point of Presence (PoPs) to deliver all the product lines, and industry-specific solutions for the banking, oil and gas, retail, telecoms and transportation sectors.
Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, chairman of Zajil Telecom, said the acquisition was consistent with Kalaam’s history of adding to its portfolio high-quality companies and consolidating regional ISPs into one strong, efficient, scalable and profitable platform.