France Telecom denies eyeing Zain assets

France, July 6, 2009

France Telecom, a top mobile operator and broadband Internet services in Europe, is not considering a bid for assets of telecom giant Zain for now, it emerged on Sunday.

'This is not on the agenda for now,' chief executive Didier Lombard was quoted as saying by our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

He was speaking in response to a question on whether France Telecom was considering bidding for some of Zain's businesses should the Kuwaiti group put them up for sale.

Reports have suggested Zain was looking to sell its African operations after receiving several offers, including one from Vivendi.

Zain has spent heavily to expand and operates in 23 countries in the Middle East and Africa.

It has spent more than $12 billion in Africa since 2005, including nearly $3 billion in Nigeria, and said it planned to spend up to $2 billion more on the continent this year. – TradeArabia News Service

Tags: France | Sales | Zain | French Telecom |