Millicom International Cellular S.A. on Sunday said it will sell its 88.86 percent stake in Paktel Ltd. to China Mobile Communications Corp. for $284 million, which includes the repayment of intercompany debt.
"We are pleased to announce the sale of Paktel to China Mobile following strong interest from a number of parties during the sale process," Marc Beuls, Millicom president and chief executive, said in a statement.
In November 2006, Millicom decided to exit the Pakistani cellular market after it had gained additional space in the 1800 Mhz spectrum, but the grant was not permanent. Additionally, authorities had refused a request to delay payment of a $29 million license installment. The sale implies an enterprise value for Paktel of $460 million, Millicom said in it's press release.
Paktel is the fifth-largest mobile operator in Pakistan.
China Mobile, the soon to be owner of Paktel is the world's largest mobile phone operator ranked by number of subscribers, with over 296 million customers. A state-owned enterprise, it was spun off from former monopoly China Telecom in 2000, and now has a 65% share of the highly competitive Chinese mobile market.
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01-22-2007 06:53 AM 
