Orascom Telecom has sold its 50 percent stake in Tunisian operator Tunisiana to its partner in the venture – Qatar’s Qtel – in a bid to reduce debt ahead of its merger with VimpelCom. It was announced today that Qtel and Princesse Holding, a Tunisian investment fund, will pay US$1.2 billion for the stake via Qtel’s local majority-owned Wataniya Telecom unit, giving Wataniya 100 percent ownership of Tunisiana, the country’s largest mobile operator. “The acquisition is in line with the Qtel Group’s vision… and with our strategy of active portfolio development, through which we may seek to increase our ownership in well-performing assets, with further growth potential,” Sheikh Abdullah al-Thani, Qtel’s chairman (pictured), said in a statement. Qtel had previously set a goal of becoming a top 20 global operator within ten years. “The partners will work with the Tunisian authorities to finalise the transaction and anticipate closing with Orascom Telecom in early January 2011,” added Qtel in a statement.

Meanwhile, Orascom talked up its exit from Tunisia as representing a significant return on investment, noting in a statement that the “transaction corresponds to an enterprise value equal to 6.7 times Tunisiana’s 2009 EBITDA and generates over 40 percent annual return on [Orascom’s] investment in the business since 2003.” The move to strengthen Orascom’s financial position was also welcomed in a separate joint statement from Orascom parent Weather Investments and VimpelCom ahead of their planned merger. “Divestment of the Tunisian operations will also have a positive impact on the pro-forma leverage ratios as the proceeds of the sale will be used in part to repay Orascom Telecom’s outstanding indebtedness and will therefore reduce the amount of indebtedness that will need to be refinanced by VimpelCom as a result,” said the statement.