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Wireless Federation » archive for 'Oger Telecom'

Turk Telecom could bid for Kyrgyztelecom

  • July 18th, 2008
  • 8:18 am

Turk Telecom, Turkish fixed line operator said that it is considering participation in a tender for the block sale of the national telecom operator of Kyrgystan, Kyrgyztelecom, as reported by Ihlas News Agency (IHA).

In June 2008, the Kyrgyzstan government said it was planning to sell a 78% stake of Kyrgyztelecom for a minimum amount of $45 million. In 2004, Germany’s Detecon won a tender for the stake with a bid of $16.2 million. Kyrgyzstan’s parliament subsequently canceled the deal, saying the price was too low.

Please note here that in 2005, Dubai-based Oger Telecom purchased a 55% stake of Turk Telekom for $6.55 billion in a privatization tender. In May, the government listed a further 15% stake in Turk Telekom on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, cutting its stake to 30%.

Saudi Telecom buys 35% of Oger Telecom for USD 2.6 billion (Saudi Arabia)

  • January 21st, 2008
  • 1:51 pm

Saudi Telecom Co has agreed to acquire a 35 percent stake in Oger Telecom for USD 2.6 billion. Oger, which is controlled by Lebanon’s Hariri family, had been in talks to sell a stake to Vivendi, but the negotiations ended late last year without a deal. For the Saudi operator, the deal builds on its recent expansion abroad, which also includes a stake in Malaysia’s Maxis. Oger Telecom controls the mobile operators Cell C in South Africa and Zapp in Romania, as well as Turk Telecom and other fixed-line activities in the Middle East.

   

Saudi Oger acquires Romanian operator Telemobil (Saudi Arabia)

  • January 14th, 2008
  • 11:38 am

Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Oger has acquired Romanian mobile operator Telemobil (Zapp), according to Romanian news site Hotnews. Saudi Oger acquired 50 percent of the Inquam Limited shares from US-based Qualcomm. Saudi Oger already owned 50 percent of Telemobil’s subisidiary Inquam through its investment fund Omnia Holdings. Both parties involved have not made public the terms of the transaction. Telemobil recently won the licence for a UMTS spectrum in the 2100 MHz band and will shortly begin expanding its network utilising this frequency. in 2001, Telemobil launched a 450 MHz CDMA network developed by Qualcomm. Saudi Oger is a group controlled by the family of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri. Saudi Oger is the main shareholder of Oger Telecom.

   

Vivendi talks to buy Oger Telecom fall through (Saudi Arabia)

  • November 20th, 2007
  • 2:16 pm

Vivendi will not buy a stake in Saudi operator Oger Telecom after all. The company issued a statement announcing that the negotiations had now ended. Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy recently said an announcement would come soon, however this was not the expected outcome, writes Les Echos. Vivendi now says it will continue to pursue its acquisition strategy in the best interest of shareholders, at acceptable prices and with clear opportunities to take control. Apparently, neither condition was met by Saudi Oger’s offer. Oger Telecom provides internet services in Saudi Arabia and is present in fixed and mobile telephony in Turkey, South Africa, Lebanon and Jordan.

   

Vivendi close to buying Oger Telecom stake - CEO (France)

  • November 17th, 2007
  • 6:41 am

French media and telecommunications group Vivendi is close to reaching an agreement to buy a stake in Saudi operator Oger Telecom, writes Les Echos. Vivendi chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said that “negotiations were on the right path” and that he hoped to make an announcement “soon”. In September, Saudi Oger, Oger Telecom’s parent company, said that it was in talks with several groups, including Vivendi. Oger Telecom provides internet services in Saudi Arabia and is present in fixed and mobile telephony in Turkey, South Africa, Lebanon and Jordan. It is closely watching the privatisation of Algerie Telecom and Slovenia’s Slovenije Telekom, and has shnown an interest in Albania’s Albtelecom.

In June, Telecom Italia sold its 10.36 percent Oger Telecom stake for US 477 million. Vivendi hopes to eventually take control of Oger Telecom, as it did with Maroc Telecom, which in which it now holds a 53 percent stake. The initial Oger Telecom stake is likely to be around 33 percent, however. This would cost it around USD 1.5 billion, based on Telecom Italia’s exit price. Saudi Oger has said it wants to keep a majority stake until November 2008.

   

Romania, Slovenia to join Oger’s club? (Romania,Turkey)

  • October 1st, 2007
  • 10:00 am

Middle East telecoms holding company Oger Telecom and its largest subsidiary Turk Telekom are interested in investing in the Romanian and Slovenian fixed line telephony markets, according to a report by Reuters. In related news, French media and telecoms group Vivendi is interested in buying up to 33% of Oger Telecom.

   

Vivendi in talks to buy Saudi Oger Telecom stake (France)

  • September 14th, 2007
  • 8:45 am

French media and telecommunications group Vivendi has issued a statement to confirm press reports that talks were underway with Saudi Oger that could lead to an equity investment in Oger Telecom. Although Vivendi says it can make no further comment at this time, banking sources told Les Echos that Vivendi seeks to buy a 30-35 percent stake in the company. A source close to the group said it does not want to stay a minority partner for long, as was the case in Morocco, where the group increased its Maroc Telecom stake from 35 percent to 51 percent. Besides its home market and Morocco, Oger Telecom is present in countries such as Turkey, South Africa, Lebanon and Jordan. It has 35 million customers and turned over USD 6.9 billion last year, for a USD 2.9 billion gross operating profit.

In 2005, Oger bought 55 percent of Turk Telekom, which had 3.6 million ADSL lines at the end of June. It also owns the country’s third mobile operator, Avea, as well as South Africa’s third mobile operator. Oger tried to float Oger Telecom in 2006, but pulled out due to an unsatisfactory valuation. When Oger acquired its Turk Telkom stake, it committed to retaining a majority stake only until November 2008, at which time the door will open for Vivendi. The French group has a low level of debt, according to financial analysts.

   

Telecom Italia divests Oger Telecom stake

  • June 29th, 2007
  • 1:24 pm

Telecom Italia has reached an agreement to sell its 10.36% stake in Oger Telecom to the Middle Eastern holding company’s majority owner Saudi Oger for USD477 million, to reduce debts. The transaction is expected to be finalised by the end of July. Oger Telecom is an emerging markets telecoms holding group, controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Oger, with headquarters in Dubai, UAE. Oger Telecom has stakes in telcos and ISPs in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, South Africa and Turkey.

   

Oger Telecom posts FY sales of USD 5.79 billion

  • June 21st, 2007
  • 10:01 am

Oger Telecom reported a net profit of USD 1.283 billion on sales of USD 5.79 billion for 2006. The privately held company did not release comparative figures, but noted that results were affected by a string of acquisitions including Cell C in South Africa, Avea in Turkey and ISP Cyberia in the Middle East. Operating profit totalled USD 1.346 billion and EBITDA was USD 2.745 billion. At its main operation Turk Telekom, revenues fell to TRY 7.219 billion from TRY 7.478 billion a year earlier due to lower PSTN revenues. The company finished the period with 18.72 access lines, while ADSL subscriber numbers rose 83 percent in 2006 to 2.82 million. EBITDA fell to TRY 3.828 billion from TRY 3.932 billion in 2005. At Avea, in which Oger holds 81 percent through Turk Telekom, subscriber numbers grew 23 percent to 7.5 million and revenues were up 18 percent to TRY 1.259 billion. Blended ARPU was stable at TRY 14.9, while the mobile operator had its first year of positive EBITDA, at TRY 172 million. Cell C grew its subscriber base 12 percent to 3.2 million, and ARPU increased 7 percent to ZAR 132. Revenues rose 19 percent to ZAT 6.546 billion, and EBITDA was down 15 percent to ZAR 459 million due to start-up costs for the venture with Virgin Mobile.

   

Oger, Turkcell lead bidding for BTC - report

  • April 12th, 2007
  • 12:25 pm

Telecompaper writes…Oger Telecom and Turkcell have made the highest bids for Bulgarian national operator BTC, reports the Financial Times. Their offers for an option on a 65 percent stake in BTC have exceeded the bids of two private equity firms, people familiar with the matter told the paper. These people said the four offers gave BTC an enterprise value of EUR 1.65-1.95 billion. Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson is selling his option for the controlling stake in an auction. The private equity firms bidding are Mid Europa Partners and a consortium of Texas Pacific Group and Warburg Pincus.