The Kharafi Group, owners of majority stake in Kuwait’s Zain said that they have received official confirmation from Indian PSUs BSNL and MTNL to acquire a stake in the African operations of the firm.

“The Kharafi Group has received an official letter stating that BSNL and MTNL are interested in participating in the proposal for buying up to 46% of Zain’s shares from the Kharafi Group,” said VC Bader al-Kharafi of Kharafi Group.

“The participation will be after conducting the requisite due diligence with regard to a fair evaluation and obtaining the necessary permissions and approvals from the government of India,” added Kharafi.

A consortium led by Vavasi group had bagged 46 % of stake in Zain last month and had claimed that BSNL and MTNL too would join the consortium. BSNL and MTNL however refuted such move and only said that they may consider joining the consortium.