Indian, Malaysian consortium to buy Zain stake-Kharafi

KUWAIT, Sept 8 (Reuters) - A consortium of Indian telecom firms and a Malaysian investor will buy a 46 percent stake in Kuwaiti telecom Zain (ZAIN.KW), an official with major shareholder Kharafi Group said on Tuesday.

The group will pay 2 dinars a share for the stake in a deal that values stake in the Arab world's third largest telecommunications firm at about $13.7 billion.

The consortium is made up of India's Vavasi Group, and regional telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam [BSNL.UL] and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL.BO) as well as Malaysian businessman Mokhtar al-Bukhari.

Speaking at a news conference, the official said the deal will take four months to complete.

(Reporting by Eman Goma; writing by Amran Abocar; editing by Thomas Atkins)