CAIRO: Telecom Egypt on Wednesday announced its offer to buy up to 24.4 percent of Vodafone Egypt in a move to increase its stake in the mobile phone operator. British group Vodafone will not be reducing its 50.1 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt, a source close to the deal has said. Telecom Egypt, which already owns 25.5 percent of Vodafone Egypt, said on Tuesday it would approach the Capital Markets Authority for approval to publish the offer to buy shares in a deal worth LE 5.856 billion ($1.02 billion). Telecom Egypt is offering LE 100 for each Vodafone Egypt share and is seeking to buy the 16 percent of the firm which is floated on the bourse, along with 5 percent held by Alkan Group and the state s Banque du Caire with 3.4 percent. A Telecom Egypt statement said its offer to buy Vodafone Egypt shares would be published in local newspapers. Sell orders can be received and registered for one week starting from the day following the tender offer announcement published in Al Ahram, Al-Akhbar and Al-Alam Al-Youm newspapers, it said. Shareholders who want to tender their shares should place sell orders with any of the brokerage firms during the tender offer period, the statement said. Telecom Egypt is seeking 58.56 million shares and would accept a minimum of 24 million, it said. Telecom Egypt said in July it would resume close cooperation with Vodafone Egypt after failing in its bid for the country s third mobile phone license, won by Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters
