2023-06-06 19:15:00
10:15 p.m
Tuesday 06 June 2023
Books – Alaa Hajjaj:
Sources in the mobile market revealed the desire of the Qatar Investment Authority, the “Qatari sovereign fund”, to acquire the entire stake of Telecom Egypt in Vodafone Egypt, and not just a part of it.
Sources close to the negotiations told Masrawy that the negotiations, which have now been renewed, revolve around the sold share, and the Qatari Sovereign Fund wants to acquire the entire government stake in Vodafone Egypt, which amounts to 45%, while the government wants to sell only part of the share, which has been a contentious point since the start. The negotiations have been going on for several months, according to the sources.
The sources said that the Qatari Sovereign Fund may use one of the specialized subsidiaries to implement the deal, to be followed by the acquisition of the remaining stake of the South African Vodacom Company.
According to the expected scenarios that the sources disclosed to Masrawy, the deal may be implemented in two stages, the first stage will be aimed at obtaining all or part of Telecom Egypt’s share in Vodafone Egypt, which allows them to be present with representatives on the company’s board of directors to be a window to learn about the nature of the mobile market in Egypt and the nature of the competition closely, and then enter into negotiations with Vodacom to acquire its share.
The sources expect the deal to be closed before June 30, given the Egyptian government’s efforts to provide investments worth $2 billion.
The sources pointed out that the Qatari fund seeks to buy the entire shares of Telecom Egypt because the fund does not only target the Egyptian market as a source of profit, but also seeks to be present in the local market through a strong operator, considering the Egyptian market as one of the important markets.
According to the sources, the market value of Vodafone Egypt currently reaches $3 billion, compared to $5 billion before the previous flotation.
Telecom Egypt’s stake in Vodafone Egypt currently ranges between $1.2 and $1.3 billion.
It is noteworthy that there were advanced talks conducted by the Qatar Investment Authority last October to seize a 20% stake in Vodafone Egypt, from the share of Telecom Egypt, and Telecom Egypt revealed at the time that it had not received any official offer from any party regarding Qatar’s investment. For about $2.5 billion in Vodafone Egypt
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