Dubai: ADIC MENA Partners, LP, a private equity fund advised by ADIC PE Management LLC, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Company, has agreed, along with other investors, to purchase OrasInvest from Orascom Telecom Holding SAE (OTH), in a leveraged buyout worth $180 million (Dh661.32 million).

OrasInvest, a telecom support company that focuses on mobile telecommunication tower construction, as well as other corporate services such as inventory management, packaging, delivery, and collection, is headquartered in Cairo and has operations in seven countries, including Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

OrasInvest is expected to end 2008 with revenues in excess of $175 million. Commenting on the acquisition, Robert Wages, executive director of Abu Dhabi Investment Company's Private Equity Group, said: "ADIC MENA Partners is very pleased to be investing in OrasInvest, given the company's potential for growth, supporting Orascom Telecom and other leading telecom operators.

Exuding confidence

"We are confident this transaction will illustrate successfully the role that private equity can play in assisting market-leading businesses like Orascom Telecom achieve their goals for corporate realignment."

Naguib Sawiris, Orascom Telecom chairman and CEO, said: "As announced at the beginning of the year, OTH is looking at disposing its non GSM businesses and OrasInvest is the first step in this direction. OrasInvest has been instrumental to the growth of OTH. In this rapidly changing environment, the sale of OrasInvest to ADIC MENA Partners allows us to outsource non-core assets and activities, while continuing to benefit from its goods and services."

"The sale of OrasInvest, which was decided in early 2008, will also result in significant profit for the company and in significant value creation for our shareholders," said Alwaleed Abdul Rahman, senior vice-president at Abu Dhabi Investment Company's Private Equity Group, who led the transaction for ADIC MENA Partners.

"The rapid evolution of the telecom sector in the region provides opportunities to achieve superior investment returns. OrasInvest is particularly well-positioned to capitalise on the growth of the sector," Abdul Rahman added.