Orascom Telecom seeks partners for Orange Switzerland bid

Egypt: According to reports, Naguib Sawiris, founder of Orascom Telecom is looking for partners in order to bid for Orange Switzerland valued at around $2.8 billion.  Other people who have shown their interest in acquiring the France Telecom SA mobile-phone unit, include Xavier Niel, founder of Iliad, and private equity firms Apax Partners LLP and EQT Partners. As per sources, when questioned about Mobinil, Sawiris said that he has no plans to sell his stake in Mobinil which belongs to Orascom and other shareholders.
As reported by Wireless Federation earlier, France Telecom is hopeful of finalizing a deal for its Switzerland unit by the end of this year and plans to target the emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa. Further, the group may also be looking to sell its units in Austria and Portugal.