UAE's biggest phone company- Emirates Telecommunications Corp has announced to acquire 18 per cent stakes in Ivory Coast-based Atlantic Telecom for $75m. The latest move has led to the full control over the telecom firm by United Arab Emirates.

Atlantic Telecom, having significant presence in the telecom markets of the region, owns majority stakes in Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Togo, and Central Africa Republic. Etisalat had earlier acquired 50 per cent stake in Atlantic in 2006 in addition to securing managements rights for next 10 year.

The telecom firm has also announced to raise its stake in its Indian subsidiary Etisalat DB from 45 per cent to 50 per cent for which an application has already been moved to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of India. However, the Indian regulator is yet to approve the application.

The company reported 5 per cent increase in its revenue in 2009 to AED8.5billion and posted a net profit of AED8.8 billion for the year. Company's total assets have been increased to AED40.4 billion as compared to AED8.5 billion recorded in the same period last year.