Vodafone is no longer interested in pursuing a contract to run one of Lebanon’s two mobile operators, it emerged this week.
The mobile operator was one of six parties to bid for the management contracts earlier this year, according to local press reports, but in an email to Reuters on Thursday it confirmed that it has decided not to pursue the opportunity.
The Lebanese government owns two mobile operators, Touch and Alfa, which are currently being run by Zain and Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT), the newswire explained. Those management contracts expired two years ago, but the government has applied various extensions in the interim.
After months of delay, the government invited bids for the two management contracts earlier this year and received offers from half a dozen firms, including Vodafone and Zain, but not OTMT, Reuters said, quoting Lebanon’s Daily Star.
The other four operators were Orange, Maxis, Turkcell and a Deutsche Telekom unit, the paper reportedly said.
It added that OTMT failed to submit an application on time.
