CAIRO — Orascom Telecom chairman Naguib Sawiris on Thursday ruled out VimpelCom succeeding in talks over the dispute with the Algerian government over its Djezzy unit.
The long-running dispute over Djezzy, Orascom Telecom's biggest single source of revenue, has complicated a $6 billion-plus deal for VimpelCom to take control of Orascom Telecom and its parent Wind Telecom, which is expected to close by May. "I do not think VimpelCom will succeed in negotiations in Algeria," Orascom Telecom's chairman said in a shareholders meeting Thursday.
Orascom Telecom's chief executive Khaled Bichara told the meeting that if VimpelCom negotiations did not succeed, Orascom would seek international arbitration.
(Reuters)
