The Kenyan government says France's Orange is in the final round of negotiations with an unidentified party to sell its 70 percent stake in Orange Kenya, Reuters reported, as confirmed by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
If successful, Orange will be the latest international operator to quit Kenya, where Safaricom, part owned by Vodafone, has the majority of subscribers. Without naming the other party, Rotich said he expected the transaction to be completed "very soon", probably before the end of year.
Orange paid USD 390 million for its stake in 2007, aiming to capitalise on what were fast growth rates in the sector. Its plan was to make the firm, then known as Telkom Kenya, profitable and then to take it public in five years. Orange was not immediately available for a comment.
Orange increased its users to 4.0 million in the quarter ended June from 3.7 million in the previous quarter, industry regulator Communications Authority of Kenya said. One of Safaricom's main advantages has been the development of its pioneering M-Pesa mobile money system, which allows users of even the most basic mobile phones to make payments. Rival offerings have yet to break Safaricom's dominance.
