Orange has acquired all of Orascom’s shares and voting rights in the Egyptian operator Mobinil for €209.6 million ($237.3m).
Mobinil, which is operated by the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (ECMS), is majority owned by Orange. The French group took control of 94% of the operator in 2012, and will exercise its call option included in this agreement to acquire the remainder from Orascom.
Orascom’s direct stake will be transferred to Orange as an “over the counter” transaction, which is expected to be finalised by the end of Q1 2015. The deal covers all of Orascom’s direct and indirect interests in the operator, including a 5% direct stake valued at 280.7 EGP per share, as well as 28.75% of the voting rights of MT Telecom (MTT), the holding company of ECMS that is fully owned by Orange, for a consideration of €45.8 million.
The deal will increase Orange’s stake in ECMS from around 94% to around 99% of the capital.
Africa and the Middle East is a key part of the Orange group’s development strategy. Through this investment, Orange confirms its commitment to the Egyptian market as one of its most important assets in the region and its largest market in terms of customers.
At the third quarter 2014, Mobinil had 33 million customers and recorded a 4% year-on-year growth in revenues.
