The Algerian government has invited Orascom Telecom to begin talks to sell its controlling stake in Orascom Telecom Algérie, the Egyptian company’s Algerian mobile phone subsidiary.
The government also reiterated that it wanted to buy 100% of the…
The Algerian government has invited Orascom Telecom to begin talks to sell its controlling stake in Orascom Telecom Algérie, the Egyptian company’s Algerian mobile phone subsidiary.
The government also reiterated that it wanted to buy 100% of the subsidiary, which trades in Algeria under the name Djezzy.
The latest statement of the government’s wish to acquire Djezzy increases the likelihood that Orascom Telecom will fail to sell some or all of assets to South Africa’s MTN.
On 28 April, Orascom announced that it had held talks with MTN about buying all or part of the company. However, the deal began to unravel later on the same day when Hamid Bessalah, the minister of communications, told state-run newswire Algérie Presse Service that he would block any change in the ownership of Djezzy.
As Djezzy constituted 49% of group Ebitda in 2009, MTN will find Orascom a less appealing takeover target if the Algerians continue to pursue their own attempt to buy Djezzy.
The Algerian government has yet to make an offer for Djezzy because it has yet to meet senior executives from Orascom’s headquarters in Egypt, said Karim Djoudi, the country’s finance minister on the sidelines of a session of parliament.
“The state is willing to take 100% of Djezzy,” he said. “This requires that Orascom Telecom Algérie express clearly its intention to sell Djezzy to the Algerian state.”
The government would seek to negotiate a price with Orascom, said Djoudi.
“When you start talks, each side need to take an adviser to be able to assess the value of the company. After that, there will be a debate to define the value of the transaction,” he said.
Also on 17 May, Bessalah told a press conference that the Algerian state had drafted a plan to manage Djezzy after a successful acquisition.
Bessalah declined to say whether the state would sell Djezzy on to another company such as a state-owned enterprise.
