$300 million windfall for Orascom, France Telecom settles dispute
www.WirelessFederation.com/news:? A global settlement fee of $300 million will be paid by France Telecom to Orascom Telecom Holding as part of an agreement between the two companies on Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil. This will put an end to a protracted dispute between the two telecom operators.
The fee will be paid after the shareholders’ agreement has been amended and restated and it comes fully into force. The current ownership structure in the agreement with Orascom is not being changed.
As per the agreement, Egyptian Co. for Mobile Services, or ECMS, which is commonly referred to as Mobinil, is 51% owned by a holding company also called Mobinil, which in turn is 71.25% controlled by France Telecom, and 28.75% by Orascom Telecom.
The partnership between the two companies will continue but France Telecom will consolidate 100% of ECMS’s results compared to 70% before.
Egyptian court’s verdict against France Telecom
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: With the blocking of France Telecom’s offer for minority stakes in the Egyptian mobile operator by Egyptian court, all hopes of the operator to take full control of ECMS were dashed. The decision was taken after the price of €1.5bn offered by France’s group to for outstanding stakes in ECMS, due to expire on Thursday was considered to be too low.
The decision is pronounced as victory of Orascom Telecom, locked in a lengthy battle with the former French monopoly for control of Egypt’s largest mobile company. The ownership and strategy of France Telecom, the largest mobile operator in the Middle East by subscribers will also loom in uncertainty because of the decision.
ECMS is controlled via Mobinil by France Telecom and Orascom in which France Telecom owns 71.25%, Orascom 28.75% and Mobinil owns 51%. The two owners have been at loggerheads for years over a strategy for the Egyptian operator.
Prime Capital named by Mobinil to evaluate France Telecom offer
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Prime Capital has been appointed by the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services or Mobinil, to evaluate an offer by France Telecom’s unit to buy up to 100% of Mobinil. Prime Capital is supposed to submit the evaluation before January 5, 2010.
The assessment of the offer will be done before January 9, 2010 on the basis of the evaluation by the Mobinil’s board of directors. An offer from France Telecom unit to buy up to 100% of Egyptian Co. for Mobile Services at 245 Egyptian pounds ($44.42) for the ECMS, was approved by Egypt’s regulator on December 10.
There are disputes regarding France Telecom’s and Orascom Telecom’s stake in Mobinil and the latter has appealed the decision made by the regulator.
Orascom against EFSA’s decision on France Telecom offer
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Egyptian regulator’s decision to allow France Telecom SA to buy 100% of Egyptian Co. for Mobile Services, or ECMS has been challenged by Orascom Telecom Holding, or OT. The company said that it
will appeal against the decision.
According to Orascom Telecom’s Chairman Naguib Sawiris, Orascom is the largest minority shareholder in ECMS with 20% share and the company feels that the price offered by France Telecom SA is not the right price.
The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority or EFSA approved an offer from France Telecom’s unit Orange Participations on Friday. 245 Egyptian pounds ($44.42) were offered by France Telecom for each freely traded share in Mobinil, Egypt’s biggest mobile company by subscribers.
