Orascom Telecom Mulls Sale of African Units

Orascom Telecom Holding – OTH (ORTE.CA) announced on Tuesday that it is conducting a strategic review and valuation to its business in Burundi, Central African Republic and Zimbabwe “to identify, examine and consider a range of strategic alternatives”.

“Those strategic options include, but are not limited to, a sale of all or a material part of the Sub-Saharan African Operations either in one transaction or in a series of transactions,” it added.

Russia’s Vimpelcom took control of the Egyptian company last year in a deal worth around $6 billion.

On Tuesday, VimpelCom also said it is planning to sell several of its emerging market businesses in Africa and Asia as part of a rationalization of its operations to focus on core growth areas.

The Russian group has spoken to potential buyers of its sub-Saharan African units from Burundi and the Central African Republic, the Financial Times reports.

It is also expected to sell its Zimbabwe business Telecel after resolving outstanding ownership and licensing issues.