Qatar's Ooredoo drops Maroc Telecom bid

Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo announced on Saturday that it was withdrawing its bid to acquire Vivendi's 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom because the process was taking too long. Ooredoo, formerly known as Qatar Telecom, said it had submitted its bid in December and that it met all the conditions of the offer. "While Maroc Telecom represents a good choice for our international portfolio, it is no longer in the interest of our shareholders to continue to tie up capital in what has become a long process," a statement said. Consequently, "we are withdrawing our bid and will concentrate... on other opportunities" in the global market. Ooredoo had been competing with UAE telecom giant Etisalat for the French company's stake in the Moroccan telecoms firm. The two made offers said to be in the range of 4.6 billion-4.7 billion euros ($6.1 billion-$6.3 billion) for Vivendi's stake, which is up for sale as part of its revamp.