CAIRO: On Wednesday, an Egyptian court blocked a regulator's decision that would have given the France Telecom the opportunity to purchase the remaining shares of Mobinil. It is the most recent development in a battle that has lasted months over the ownership of Egypt's largest mobile phone operator. Orascom Telecom, along with the Paris-based FT, is the largest shareholder in Mobinil, had appealed last month a ruling by the Egyptian Financial Services Authority, which many had thought would allowed for the opening of the door for FT subsidiary Orange Participations to purchase Mobinil at 245 Egyptian pounds ($45) per share. The most recent ruling was a blow to Orascom, which had argued that FT's offer was too low. Judge Hamdi Yaseen of the Cairo Administrative Court's Investment Disputes division sided with Orascom Telecom, ordering a halt to the implementation of the EFSA's ruling, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported. It was not immediately made known as to what the court's basis was for siding with Orascom. France Telecom declined to comment immediately after the verdict. In August, an appeal from the French telecom giant ended with Egypt’s financial regulator delivering a resounding “no” to its attempts to purchase the remaining shares of Mobinil, but it didn't stop FT from continuing its push for the deal. A committee of three Egyptian judges “has supported the regulator’s decision to reject the bid,†Khalid Seyam, deputy head of the regular, told reports after the meeting in Cairo. The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority had previously rejected three offers made by the Paris-based company to acquire the remaining shares of Egypt’s mobile operator as “too low,†saying they were less than the price set by an arbitration ruling for the majority of the company. France Telecom has been seeking to buy all outstanding shares of Mobinil for 237 Egyptian pounds ($42.75) per share, which was much lower that what the regulator was demanding. France Telecom had offered to buy a stake owned by Orascom Telecom in a holding company that owns a controlling percent of Mobinil at a higher price of 273 pounds per share. The Financial Supervisory Authority had ruled earlier that for France Telecom to buy the Orascom Telecom stake, it would also be obliged to bid for all remaining shares in Mobinil at the higher price of 273 pounds as previously stated. It is unclear whether FT will continue its efforts to make the purchase or if this was the final straw in a battle that ended with little achieved. BM
