Qtel buys mobile phone firm Tunisiana for $1.2bn - The National

Orascom Telecom, the largest telecommunications operator in the Arab world, has completed the sale of its Tunisian unit to Qatar Telecom (Qtel).

Qtel agreed to purchase Orascom's 50 per cent holding in Orascom Telecom Tunisie, also known as Tunisiana, for US$1.2 billion (Dh4.4bn) in November, with the Egyptian operator looking to shed assets before one of the largest telecoms mergers in recent years.

Tunisiana was previously 50 per cent owned by Wataniya Telecom, a subsidiary of Qtel based in Kuwait. It will now gain full ownership of the company.