Etisalat closes on Maroc Telecom stake acquisition

Vivendi has completed the long running attempt to sell its 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom to Etisalat.

The final price came in at €4.14 billion (US$5.66 billion) – which is compared to the €4.2 billion that the companies originally said the deal would be worth.

However, that figure does not include the US$650million that Maroc Telecom has just spent buying a number of Etisalat subsidiaries – so the net cost to Etisalat is about US$300 million lower than originally expected.

In addition, Etisalat is due to receive €507 million in dividend payments from Maroc Telecom, payable next month.

Etisalat agreed to buy the 53 per cent stake in the Moroccan mobile network from Vivendi last November following a protracted bidding process, but completion has taken longer than expected.

Etisalat now owns 53 per cent of Maroc Telecom, with 17 per cent listed on a local stock market. The remaining 30 per cent is owned by the government, which also has a veto over any change in ownership.

Maroc Telecom has operations in Gabon, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Mali, and recently acquired Etisalat’s stakes in its subsidiaries located in Benin, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Niger and Togo.