Orascom Telecom has appointed investment bankers to consider strategic options including a possible auction of the company, reports UK paper The Times. A deal could value the company at up to USD 17 billion. According to the paper's sources, informal discussions over the future of Orascom have already been held with Deutsche Telekom. However, the discussions were at a very early stage and may not result in a deal. Other possible buyers include Vodafone, Telefonica and France Telecom. Orascom, which is based in Egypt, operates in nine countries in the Middle East and Africa. Separately, its CEO Naguib Sawiris told the Financial Times that Orascom is not up for sale. However, he confirmed that he is still talking to private equity groups to take a minority stake in his holding Weather Investments, which controls Italian and Greek operator Wind.
