Tunisian telecom operator Tunisie Telecom has finally decided during its board meeting on April 29, 2016, to acquire a stake in the capital of Maltese mobile telephony operator GO. The Tunisian company plans to buy a 60% stake in GO. This stake is currently held by GO’s co-shareholder, Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT), subsidiary of sovereign fund Dubai Holding.

After the deal, which will surely be submitted to approval by competent authorities of both countries, is fulfilled, Tunisie Telecom will have a second subsidiary abroad. The telecom firm presently has one subsidiary: Mattel, second telecom operator in Mauritania in terms of market shares.

By acquiring a majority stake in Go, Malta’s second mobile telephony operator, with 39% of market shares, at June 30, 2015, behind Vodacom and ahead of Melita Mobile, Redtouch Fone and VFC Mobile, Tunisie Telecom will enter the European telecom market.

Also present in the landline telephony and data segments, GO could prove an extremely profitable investment in the long run for Tunisie Telecom. The Tunisian group should however be very cautious to conserve Go’s dynamism in a highly competitive market.