The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (Case) confirmed it received an "obligatory tender offer from Orascom Telecom Holding (OT) to acquire 100 percent of Raya Holding's free-floating shares on the bourse. Raya Holding has 60 percent of its total shares floating on the Case, and OT proposed to purchase all of them - equivalent to 56,984,760 shares - at a price of LE 12 per share in a total deal worth LE 683.8 million. "An obligatory tender is when one company owns 60 percent or more of another company's trading shares on the stock. In that case, the company is allowed to acquire 100 percent of these shares, a source at the Case told The Daily Star Egypt. OT currently owns more than the required 60 percent of Raya Holding's shares on the bourse, the source added. However, as Wednesday's trading price opened at approximately LE 12.25, Raya Holding is not induced by OT's offer. "The price OT offered is much lower than our current trading price.and analysts value our shares at LE 15 each, explained Nihal Abbas, communications manager at Raya. "[By all means,] we do not expect to sell at the price offered in this tender. Raya Holdings operates in mobile phone distribution and IT services. It has a paid-in capital of LE 285 million distributed over some 57 million shares. OT has not contacted Raya or made any negotiations before announcing their offer, added Abbas. OT was not available for comment at press time. Meanwhile, the Case and the Capital Market Authority are evaluating OT's offer.
