Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT), the company controlled by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, and France Telecom (FT) have signed a MoU regarding the sale of OTMT’s stake in Egyptian Mobinil.
A successful transaction between the two…
Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT), the company controlled by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, and France Telecom (FT) have signed a MoU regarding the sale of OTMT’s stake in Egyptian Mobinil.
A successful transaction between the two key shareholders would be followed by a tender offer for all outstanding shares.
Mobinil, also known as Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (ECMS), is currently 36.33%-owned by FT and 34.67% by OTMT. The remaining 29% is in free float.
In a joint statement, the companies said that after buying a stake in ECMS at a price of E£202.5 (US$33.6) per ECMS share, FT would then launch a tender offer for ECMS’ free float at that same price.
Ultimately, OTMT is expected to retain a 5% stake in ECMS. “OTMT would remain as FT’s strategic local partner in Egypt and would continue to provide strategic and management oversight over ECMS,” read the joint statement.
At current exchange rates, the transaction would have a value of around €1.5bn.
In April 2010, France Telecom agreed to pay Orascom Telecom US$300m to bring an end to a bitter, two-and-a-half-year fight over control of Mobinil.
This settlement also resulted in a new shareholders’ agreement whereby Sawiris had a put option to sell his ECMS stake to FT from September 2012 for between E£221.7 and E£248.5 per share, according to Reuters.
This put option was reportedly revised a few days ago to reflect Mobinil’s current market valuation.
Sawiris had said recently that he was considering investments in various countries including Libya, North Korea, Austria, and Switzerland, via OTMT.
Conversely, non-core operations that were left out of the merger between Wind Telecom and Russia’s VimpelCom last year will be divested, he said.
Wind Telecom was known previously as Weather Investments, an investment vehicle founded by Sawiris.
