Kuwait's telecom major Zain today said it expects returns worth USD 5 billion from

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the sale of the company's African assets to Bharti Airtel.

The Indian telecom giant has offered to buy all of the company's African operations except in Sudan and Morocco for USD 10.7 billion.

Zain in a statement to the Kuwait Stock Exchange said that after payment of certain obligations, the sale of African assets to Bharti is expected to generate returns to the tune of USD 5 billion.

According to the Kuwait-based firm, Bharti would pay USD 10 billion at the time of completing the deal. The remaining USD 700 million would be given one year after the transaction.

Yesterday, Bharti announced that it would hold exclusive discussions with Zain for acquiring its African operations till March 25.

Zain today said that Bharti's USD 10.7 billion offer is going through the due-diligence stage.

Once the deal is complete, the shareholders' equity in Zain would rise by USD 9 billion, it said.

The penalty applicable for both sides, if the deal falls through is USD 150 million, the statement noted.

Following the announcement, shares of Zain resumed trading on the Kuwait exchange today and the scrip jumped as much as nine per cent.

Zain shares were suspended from trading on Sunday, after the company announced that its board has approved Bharti's bid.