DUBAI, July 29: Etisalat said on Monday that its affiliate Pakistan Telecommunications Co Ltd (PTCL) had expressed interest in mobile operator Warid Telecom.

Warid has been put on the block by its Abu Dhabi owners in a sale likely to fetch up to $1 billion, Reuters reported last month.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Etisalat had hired Goldman Sachs Inc to advise on a potential bid for Warid.

Etisalat holds a 26 per cent stake in PTCL and also has management control of the business in Pakistan.

“Etisalat Group holds a stake in PTCL with managerial control, and PTCL has expressed an interest in Warid Telecom.

Etisalat Group cannot offer further comment and will not comment on speculation regarding Warid Telecom,” Etisalat's spokesman Ahmed bin Ali said in an emailed statement.

Meanwhile, telecoms group Vimpelcom has agreed to sell two of its sub-Saharan assets for about $100 million and is bidding for Warid Telecom, two banking sources familiar with the matter said.

New-York listed Vimpelcom, which has operations in Russia, Italy and various emerging markets, put some African assets on the block last year to focus on larger markets and cut its debt.

It has now reached agreement to sell Telecel Global, which includes Vimpelcom's Burundi and Central African Republic units, to Neil Telecom, an emerging market-focused telecoms venture run by African investor Laurent Foucher, the sources said.

The deal is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals for Neil Telecom, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public.

A spokesman for Vimpelcom referred Reuters to its last financial results when the company said it had signed a share purchase agreement to sell its stake in Telecel Global but declined to comment further on the buyer or price.

The spokesman also declined to comment on Pakistan bid plans.

Foucher, who is the chief executive of Neil Telecom, has several business interests in Africa, including Neil Petroleum, an oil and gas investment firm, one of the sources said.

The telecom units came to Vimpelcom when it bought a 51pc stake in Egypt-based Orascom Telecom and all of Italy's Wind in 2011 for $6bn.

The sale plan does not include Vimpelcom's assets in Zimbabwe, which the company is negotiating separately, one of the sources said.

“That sale will be to a separate set of buyers and discussions on that are currently ongoing,” the source said.

Vimpelcom has hired Citigroup Inc to advise on the potential acquisition of Warid Telecom.

A full sale of Warid, owned by conglomerate The Abu Dhabi Group, could raise up to $1bn, according to sources.—Reuters