CC image courtesy of VimpelCom.
Vimpelcom owns units in a number of African countries through Orascom Telecom, which operates as Leo in Burundi, Telecel in Zimbabwe and Djezzy in Algeria.
Although no fixed deal has been announced yet, a private equity buyer is said to be the new owner of the assets, valued at between US$300 million and US$400 million.
"The Burundi unit is quite profitable, Zimbabwe has potential, and I expect a few parties will have been looking at it,” a banking source told TMT Finance reported.
Egyptian Orascom Telecom has a 60 per cent stake in Telecel Zimbabwe, with the remainder belonging to Empowerment Corporation.
Vimpelcom Group merged with Orascom in 2011, resulting in African and Asian portfolio acquisitions valued at US$6.5 billion.