Kenya has rejected a bid from Egypt's Orascom Telecom Co. to acquire a stake in the Kenyan Communication Co., said press reports on Tuesday.
The reports added that the Kenyan government would be negotiating soon with Mount Kenya Consortium, which submitted the best offer.
The East African Standard newspaper cited Kenyan Minister of Finance Cress Okimo as saying that his government did not accept the bid submitted by Orascom to acquire 49 percent of the Kenyan firm offered for sale last year.
The newspaper cited the minister as saying that the Kenyan government would soon issue a detailed statement on the failed talks. It was impossible to contact any Kenyan officials for comments.
The Egyptian company reportedly offered to pay the sum of $80 million as a contribution to the capital and provide equipment worth $190 million, in addition to paying other $80 million in four annual installments.
In a statement last month, the minister said he hoped to conclude the deal with Orascom by next August. Mount Kenya Consortium offered the highest bid last year amounting to 305 million dollars but the Kenyan government rejected the offer.
The delay in concluding the deal has been one of the reasons for the IMF decision to suspend its aid program for Kenya at the end of last year, as the plan constituted the basic foundation for the Kenyan privatization program – Albawaba.com
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