Qatari TV services company Salam bought by GSSG

The Qatari conglomerate Ghanim Bin Saad Al Saad & Sons (GSSG) Holdings has acquired 80 per cent of the broadcasting services company Salam Media Cast in a "multimillion-dollar" deal.

Salam Media Cast, also based in Qatar, is in media, broadcast and telecommunications, and has the satellite-TV giant MBC as a client.

The company, a subsidiary of Salam International, supplies equipment for TV stations and studios, as well as providing training and post-production services. Its other major clients include Al Jazeera, CNBC and Etisalat, according to the company's website.

Sami el Shafai, the executive director of operations for Salam International, said the GSSG acquisition represented a "multimillion-dollar" deal, but declined to specify the exact value.

"The Salam name will remain," said Mr el Shafai. "We will expand in terms of investment, because we have to hire new people [and seek] new business."

The company has a range of customers across the Gulf and in Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan and the Levant. "Every broadcaster, every station, every production house is our customer," said Mr el Shafai.

Salam International is listed on the Doha Security Market and Dubai Financial Market.

"Salam International will [retain] 20 per cent of Salam Media Cast," said Mr el Shafai. Revenues will be shared "according to the equity of each one", he said.

Salam Media Cast will become part of GSSG's recently launched subsidiary Media Group, which it says will focus on media production, public relations and event management.

Muhammed al Hammadi, the deputy chairman of GSSG, said the expansion of the services offered by Salam Media Cast would be concentrated on the Gulf region. "We can help them to open in new markets … We concentrate in our own markets, especially in Qatar," he said.

"This is our first investment in the media sector," Mr al Hammadi added.

bflanagan@thenational.ae