France Telecom won’t bid for Telekom Srbija stake
France Telecom SA spokesperson has revealed that the company has decided not to take part in the privatization of Serbian telecom operator, Telekom Srbija, as it considered the asset too expensive.
According to the company’s spokesperson, they have studied the tender offer but decided not to take part in the bidding process notably because they considered the asking price too high.
A series of companies including VimpelCom Ltd., Weather Investments SpA, Telekom Austria AG, America Movil SAB, Turkcell and Deutsche Telekom AG have applied to take part in the tender.
Final bids are expected at the end of March.
VimpelCom merger may not get shareholder approval (Russia)
If reports are to be believed, VimpelCom Ltd., Russia’s second-biggest mobile network operator may struggle to get shareholder approval of a merger with Weather Investments SpA.
According to reports, VimpelCom’s board is due to meet in Amsterdam on Dec. 28 to approve the deal and some shareholders said the company could be overpaying for Weather’s assets.
Creditors completely takeover Wind Hellas
Greek telecommunications company, Wind Hellas’s has stated that the purchase of the company by its creditors is now complete.
The statement came after Wind Hellas’s Scheme of Arrangement, which was supported by creditors holding just over US$1.33 billion in senior secured notes, was sanctioned by U.K. High Court Justice Richard Arnold on Dec. 8.
Wind Hellas was put up for sale in July after the Greek government introduced strict measures in the wake of the country’s sovereign debt crisis.
The creditors’ bid to take control of the company was chosen in October over other offers, including one from the company’s previous owner Weather Investments SpA, the investment vehicle of Egyptian entrepreneur Naguib Sawiris.
The creditors, including U.S. hedge funds, paid US$995.24 million in cash to take ownership of the company, cleared of its US$2.48 billion in debt.
As part of the deal, the group is paying off the senior US$332.72 million revolving credit facility and almost US$53.23 million in hedging costs.
VimpelCom misses deadline for Sawiris deal
Russian mobile operator VimpelCom Ltd. has missed the deadline for signing the final agreements on merging with Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris’s Weather Investments SpA in a multi-billion cash-and-stock deal.
One of the main hurdles to finalizing the deal is the Algerian unit of Weather’s Orascom Telecom, the holding’s major revenue contributor, which the local government is seeking to nationalize.
According to VimpelCom spokeswoman Elena Prokhorova, VimpelCom and Weather continue to work toward closing the transaction as outlined in their Oct. 4 release.
According to previous statements by VimpelCom Chief Executive Alexander Izosimov, when the deal was announced, the company needed to finalize a series of ancillary agreements and the financing plan, with a view to sign the final agreements by the end of November.
VimpelCom agreed to combine with the debt laden telecom assets of Sawiris in a $6.9 billion stock-and-cash deal to become the world’s fifth-largest mobile operator by the number of subscribers.
As per the agreement, VimpelCom will own–via Weather Investments–51.7% of Orascom Telecom and 100% of Italian mobile group Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA.
Orascom Tel must settle debts before deal: Algerian PM
According to Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, Orascom Telecom must settle all its liabilities before Algeria concludes a deal to nationalize the Egyptian firm’s local unit.
While addressing the parliament, Ouyahia said the liabilities including payment of $230 million in back taxes, $190 million in penalties to the central bank, and settling of a dispute with former employees with pending wages.
As per the Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, Algeria will buy 100% of Djezzy, the local mobile-phone unit of Orascom Telecom Holding, after the Egyptian company settles its debts. Orascom Telecom will have to pay $230 million in debts as well as $190 million in fines for money transfers.
The Country doesn’t recognize any partner other than Orascom with whom they have signed a deal. Sawiris’s Weather Investments SpA has a 51.7% stake in Orascom Telecom.
