Egypt's Orascom Telecom said on Sunday it may sell its Iraqi subsidiary after it dropped out of a race for a long-term mobile licence in the war-torn country. Orascom also said it would not submit another bid to acquire Egyptian communications and technology firm Raya after the firm rejected Orascom's first offer.
Orascom, which had operated the subsidiary, called Iraqna, under a short-term licence after the invasion in 2003, said the $1.25 billion price and 18 percent revenue sharing for a longer-term licence in Iraq were too high.
Iraq sold three 15-year mobile licences for $3.75 billion to Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co, Asiacell, and Korek last week.
"(Orascom) is currently evaluating alternatives to monetise the assets of Iraqna including sale or joint venture," the firm said in a statement. Company officials declined to give more details.
Iraqna, the first company to provide a full mobile phone service in Baghdad after the 2003 invasion, had around 3 million subscribers, it said on its Web site. Orascom had invested almost $300 million in Iraqna, which accounted for about 11 percent of its revenues, said Walaa Hazem, telecom analyst at HC Securities in Cairo.
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