MOBILE WORLD: Qatar Telecom in 'Final Evaluation' of Potential Maroc Telecom Bid - CEO

By Sam Schechner

BARCELONA--Qatar Telecom's (QTEL.DO) chief executive said Wednesday that Maroc Telecom (IAM.CL), could be a "good fit" with its portfolio of operators, and it is now evaluating what it would pay as an auction for Vivendi SA's (VIVHY) controlling stake in the North African phone operator draws nearer.

Maroc Telecom "has a number of criteria that are a good fit for us now, and we are at the stage where we are making final evaluation of that opportunity," said Nasser Marafih, CEO of the group, in an interview on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "But it has to be done at the right price, it has to make sense."

Qatar Telecom is among a number of potential bidders that last year expressed preliminary interest in Maroc Telecom, including Korean operator KT Corp. (KT), Abu Dhabi's Emirates Telecommunications Co. (ETISALAT.AD), or Etisalat, and France Telecom SA (FTE).

Qatar Telecom's continued interest could help boost bidding at Vivendi's auction as the Paris-based conglomerate tries to move away from the telecoms business and toward media assets like U.S.-based Universal Music Group and French TV and movie giant Canal Plus. Vivendi has been auctioning both Maroc Telecom and Brazilian broadband operator GVT.

Vivendi has confirmed the auctions, but also said it is in no rush to sell. "We don't feel obliged to conclude if the price isn't right," Vivendi Chief Financial Officer Philippe Capron said when presenting 2012 earnings Tuesday.

Vivendi has been seeking roughly 5.5 billion euros ($7.19 billion) for its 53% stake in Maroc Telecom, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Marafih would not comment on whether he thought that price was fair, but indicated a willingness to look beyond the unit's present market capitalization.

"We don't look at short term, we look at longer term, the agenda for the business and how that is growing," Mr. Marafih said. "Sometimes you pay a certain price knowing the asset could give you more value in the future."

For Qatar Telecom, a potential purchase of Maroc Telecom would fit in a broader strategy of expanding in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. In the past year, the company has spent more than EUR3 billion increasing its stakes in the operators it owns. This week, it said it would rebrand its operators around the world under a single name, Ooredoo, which means "I want" in Arabic.

Mr. Marafih said Qatar Telecom is currently evaluating other potential acquisitions, including potential expansion into Myanmar or Libya.

"To us, scale is important. You have to be at least in the top 20 globally, you could go even higher. But the important thing for us is to do things that make sense," Mr. Marafih said.

Write to Sam Schechner at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires