By Daliah Merzaban
DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai-based Oger Telecom, which on Saturday lost its bid to enter Saudi Arabia's telecoms market, said it wants to conclude at least two acquisitions this year before restarting scrapped IPO plans as early as 2008.
Oger, whose majority owner Saudi Oger is controlled by relatives of late Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, has $4-5 billion to spend on acquisitions, which could include a bid in a privatization of Kazakhtelecom KZTK.KZ, Chief Executive Paul Doany said on Sunday.
The firm canceled a $1.25 billion initial public offering in November on fears that tumbling Gulf Arab markets would hit the share price after listing in Dubai and London.
"We believe it would make more sense to crack at least two of these acquisitions before the IPO," Doany told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit in a telephone interview.
"The shareholders will have to decide what is the right time for the IPO. I believe that the end of this year or early next year seems like the right timing for it," he said.
Oger is increasingly focusing on telecom acquisitions outside of the Middle East after its bids in Tunisia and Saudi Arabia fell below those of competing Gulf Arab operators.
In the latest upset, Oger's $4 billion bid for Saudi Arabia's third mobile phone license came in far below the $6.1 billion winning bid of a consortium led by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunication's Co. TELE.KW on Saturday.
"That was absolutely the highest level we were prepared to offer. We didn't expect prices to reach that level. Even at our price it was a real stretch," Doany said. Continued...
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