Asiacell to launch Iraqi IPO
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Asiacell to launch Iraqi IPO

Iraqi operator Asiacell is to launch an IPO on January 3 2013, said a company executive today.

In what is likely to be the country’s largest ever share sale, the subsidiary of Qatar Telecom is looking to sell off a quarter of its stock on the Iraq Stock Exchange, added the spokesman.

It has a deadline of December 25 2012 to tell market regulators the number of shares it wants to sell, and the price to sell at.

Asiacell had an enterprise value of $4.4 billion in 2011 by Nomura Holdings, and received preliminary approval from Iraqi regulators to launch a shale sale in August.

According to Reuters, Asiacell and rivalling operator Zain Iraq had both been required to float a quarter of their shares by August 2011, as part of their licence agreements.

The planned IPOs will be the first in Iraq since dictator Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003.

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