French media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi has received two binding offers for its 53% stake in Maroc Telecom. It will review the proposals within the coming weeks.
Vivendi did not reveal the names of the bidders, but UAE-based Etisalat and Ooredoo…
French media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi has received two binding offers for its 53% stake in Maroc Telecom. It will review the proposals within the coming weeks.
Vivendi did not reveal the names of the bidders, but UAE-based Etisalat and Ooredoo (Qatar Telecom) separately announced that they both submitted binding offers for the stake.
Vivendi is expected to raise around €5.5bn (US$7.4bn) from the sale of its stake in the Moroccan telco, which would help cut its debt.
Etisalat noted it will be required to make a mandatory offer to minority shareholders if its bid is successful and could therefore end up acquiring more than a 53% interest. The Moroccan government has a 30% stake in the telco.
No financial details were disclosed but Etisalat said it has already secured the required funds from both local and international banks. Recent reports said that the telco is in talks with up to 16 banks to secure an US$8bn loan.
Meanwhile, Ooredoo has reportedly lined up a US$12bn loan. Ten banks will reportedly provide the loan: Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Barclays, Citi, Development Bank of Singapore, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Qatar National Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Etisalat is being advised by BNP Paribas, and Ooredoo has hired JP Morgan.
Etisalat’s bid for Maroc Telecom is the company’s first attempt to expand its operations since it ended talks to buy a stake in Kuwait’s Zain for US$12bn in 2011.
Meanwhile, Ooredoo has been increasing its stakes in some Middle Eastern subsidiaries including Kuwait and Iraq.
Vivendi launched a strategic review of its operations last year and sales processes for two of its three telecoms units: GVT in Brazil and Maroc Telecom. The sale of GVT was suspended last month after US satellite broadcaster DirecTV pulled out of the process.
