The South African telco MTN has confirmed that it is talking to Weather Investments about buying some or all of the assets of Orascom Telecom, the Egyptian mobile phone group with operations in North and Central Africa.
MTN acted after telecoms bankers…
The South African telco MTN has confirmed that it is talking to Weather Investments about buying some or all of the assets of Orascom Telecom, the Egyptian mobile phone group with operations in North and Central Africa.
MTN acted after telecoms bankers said on 23 April that the South African company had approached investment banks to raise about US$5bn to finance the acquisition of at least one major Orascom asset, the Egyptian company’s Algerian subsidiary Orascom Telecom Algérie.
In a statement on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on 28 April, MTN said it “is in discussions with Orascom Telecom’s parent company, Weather Investments, which may or may not lead to a transaction relating to the acquisition by MTN of Orascom Telecom and/or certain of its businesses”.
In an almost identical statement on the Egyptian Exchange, Orascom confirmed that its parent had held talks with MTN about acquiring some of Orascom’s assets or a stake in the whole company.
The Egyptian Exchange restarted trading in Orascom’s shares at the beginning of the 28 April session after it had suspended trading on 26 and 27 April because of the market rumours about talks between MTN and Orascom.
Orascom’s shares fell 3.5% ending the session at E£7.87, down from E£7.60. The shares left the company valued at £E39.9bn (US$7.2bn).
On 27 April, Orascom announced that it had submitted a final agreement for the control of Mobinil, Egypt’s largest mobile phone operator, to the Egyptian Financial Services Authority for the regulator’s approval.
The agreement should bring an end to a two-and-a-half-year dispute between Orascom and the other major shareholder in Mobinil – France Telecom – over the ownership of Mobinil. The agreement removes a potential obstacle to a take-over of Orascom by MTN.