TORONTO, June 19 (Reuters) – A subsidiary of European telecoms company Vimpelcom Ltd (VIP.N) has withdrawn its bid to acquire control of Canada’s Wind Mobile, a surprise move that creates further uncertainty about the future of the upstart Canadian wireless company.
Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA), an Egyptian company that is majority-owned by Vimpelcom, said on Wednesday it has dropped its application to the Canadian government for permission to take control of Wind. Orascom had initially bankrolled Wind Mobile’s operations in Canada before being bought by Vimpelcom.
Orascom said it remained interested in consolidating its interest in Wind and was working with Ottawa to this end.
The fate of Wind is being closely watched by the three big telecoms companies that dominate the Canadian market – BCE Inc (BCE.TO), Telus Corp (T.TO) and Rogers Communications Inc (RCIb.TO) – and the country’s Conservative government.
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