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Egypt Rejects New France Telecom Offer
Published Jul 19, 2009
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Egypt's regulator has rejected the third offer made by France Telecom to buy outstanding shares in Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil, the Egyptian stock exchange said on Thursday.
"The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority has rejected the tender offer represented by Orange Participations, totally owned by France Telecom, to buy up to 100 percent of Egyptian Company for Mobile Services," also known as Mobinil, the bourse statement said.
Earlier, a France Telecom subsidiary submitted a new offer to buy the shares.
Egypt's regulator had rejected two earlier offers by the French firm, which is in a dispute with the Egyptian company's other main shareholder, Orascom Telecom.
The stock exchange said Orange Participations, a wholly owned subsidiary of France Telecom, had submitted an obligatory tender offer to purchase Mobinil's stock.
A spokeswoman for France Telecom confirmed the company had made the offer, but declined to give details.
An arbitration court has ruled that Orascom should sell France Telecom its stake in a holding company that owns 51 percent of Mobinil.
But France Telecom rejects the assertion by Orascom and the regulator that the ruling obliges it to bid for the remaining shares in Mobinil at an equivalent price per share.
The rival shareholders have differed over strategy for Mobinil, with Orascom keen to invest more heavily than the French firm, analysts said.
France Telecom has said the two firms initially disagreed over Mobinil's budget and expenditure, marketing strategy and start up of 3G services.
In addition to owning shares in the holding company, Orascom has a 20 percent direct stake in Mobinil.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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