Orange raises stake in Mobinil to 99% for €210 million

Orange Group exercised a call option to purchase all shares and voting rights held by Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) in the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (ECMS), which runs the Mobinil brand, in a deal worth just under €210 million (US$238 million).

The transaction, which Orange and OTMT reckon will be finalised by end-March 2015, will see the French firm cement its control in Mobinil, raising its stake from around 94 per cent to 99 per cent.

The €209.6 million deal includes OTMT’s five per cent stake in ECMS, along with 28.75 per cent of the voting rights of MT Telecom (MTT), the holding company of ECMS that is fully owned by Orange, for €45.8 million.

In a statement, Orange said the investment “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”.

Mobinil had a total of 32.5 million connections (including M2M) at the end of 2014, placing it second behind Vodafone (39.5 million connections).

Etisalat occupies third spot with 24.6 million connections.