Mobinil expects shareholders to reach agreement within a month

Mobinil expects that its two major shareholders, France Telecom and Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, will soon declare an end to a year-long battle for control of the company.
Iskander Shalaby, chairman of Mobinil, told Reuters that the heads of France Telecom…

Mobinil expects that its two major shareholders, France Telecom and Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, will soon declare an end to a year-long battle for control of the company.

Iskander Shalaby, chairman of Mobinil, told Reuters that the heads of France Telecom and Orascom Telecom met in Paris at the end of March to agree an end to their dispute.

On 10 April, a Cairo court struck down a decision from Egypt’s capital markets regulator that France Telecom could buy out Mobinil’s 49% free float for E£245 a share.

Under Egyptian law, France Telecom cannot make a new bid to takeover the company until six months have passed since its E£245 a share offer.

As the last offer was made – and approved by the markets regulator – on 10 December last year, France Telecom cannot do anything until 10 June.

The meeting between new France Telecom chief executive officer Stephane Richard and Orascom Telecom’s executive chairman Naguib Sawiris suggests that the two major shareholders could agree to work together for the forseeable future.

Shalaby said that the two companies could reach a deal in “no more than a couple of weeks, a month maximum. I know there are intensive discussions”.