Feb 12 2012 |
more articles from
|
UPDATE:OTMT In Advanced Talks With France Telecom Over Mobinil's Future
Sunday, Feb 12, 2012
--OTMT says in advanced talks with France Telecom over Egypt's Mobinil
--Joint OTMT, France Telecom statement due before trading starts Monday
(Recasts, adds analyst comment, details throughout.)
Of ZAWYA DOW JONES
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Egypt's Orascom Telecom Media and Technology, or OTMT, said Sunday it is in advanced talks with France Telecom (FTE) regarding the future of their jointly-owned Mobinil unit.
As it stands, France Telecom owns 36.4% of ECMS, the Cairo-listed company commonly referred to as Mobinil, while OTMT controls 34.6% of the company. Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris owns 51.7% of OTMT through his Wind Telecom vehicle.
"The timing of the talks is a surprise given that OTMT/Sawiris's [Mobinil's biggest shareholder] put option over Mobinil shares becomes exercisable for the first time between Sept.15 and Nov.15 2012 at a strike price of EGP239.6 to EGP240.9 per share," said Ahmed Adel, a telecoms analyst at Cairo-based Naeem Brokerage. "If OTMT was intent on exercising the put, why not just wait until then."
Adel said that what could however bring the two parties to make a potential sale now could be a loop-hole in the Orascom Telecom Holding and OTMT demerger process that could trigger France Telecom's call option, or Sawiris could be looking to do a side deal with France Telecom, as he might be seeking to build a new telecoms portfolio under OTMT, he added.
Sawiris couldn't be reached for comment Sunday.
Mobinil shares rallied 10% Thursday on speculation regarding its ownership structure. On top of this, analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to buy, from neutral rating, citing a significant possibility that OTMT will exercise a put option on Mobinil on Sept. 15, which would lead to a mandatory offer for all Mobinil minorities.
-By Shereen El Gazzar, Dow Jones Newswires; +971 444 61684; Shereen.elgazzar@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-02-12 1205GMT
Zawya Comment Policy
-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Copyright © 2012 Zawya Ltd. All rights reserved. |
provided by www.zawya.com |
Post Your Comment