Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) has not taken any decisions with regards to the sale of its 5% stake in local operator Mobinil to French incumbent Orange.
Earlier today, trading in OTMT’s and Mobinil’s shares had been…
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) has not taken any decisions with regards to the sale of its 5% stake in local operator Mobinil to French incumbent Orange.
Earlier today, trading in OTMT’s and Mobinil’s shares had been suspended pending an announcement from the Egyptian holding.
Trading quickly resumed after OTMT said in a notice to the Egyptian Exchange that it has not taken any decisions regarding its put option to sell its five million shares in Mobinil to MT Telecom SCRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orange.
The announcement followed local reports which quoted Egyptian billionaire and OTMT chairman Naguib Sawiris as saying that he planned to sell the Mobinil stake.
In May 2012, Orange, then known as France Telecom, completed a tender offer to buy a 94% stake in the Egyptian mobile operator via its MT Telecom subsidiary.
OTMT, which directly and indirectly controlled 34.67% of Mobinil before the €1.5bn transaction, retained a 5% stake in the company. Orange previously held 36.33% of the operator while 29% was in free float.
Mobinil is Egypt’s second-largest wireless player behind Vodafone.