Spain's inflation up in July on higher energy costs    Cairo Airport running smoothly after outage – Cabinet    Egypt, France airdrop aid to Gaza amid growing humanitarian crisis, global criticism of Israel    Supply minister discusses strengthening cooperation with ITFC    Egypt launches initiative with traders, manufacturers to reduce prices of essential goods    SCZONE chief discusses strengthening maritime, logistics cooperation with Panama    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Egypt reviews health insurance funding mechanism to ensure long-term sustainability    Gaza on verge of famine as war escalates, ceasefire talks stall    Gaza crisis, trade on agenda as Trump hosts Starmer in Scotland    Egyptian president follows up on initiatives to counter extremist thought    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Egypt will keep pushing for Gaza peace, aid: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    58 days that exposed IMF's contradictions on Egypt    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



STC willing to buy only Vodafone Group's 55% stake in Egypt unit
Sources close to deal expect it will be officially closed by November
Published in Daily News Egypt on 06 - 07 - 2020

The Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has completed, at the end of June, a due diligence study in its potential acquisition of Vodafone Group's stake in Vodafone Egypt.
STC financial advisors will review the study in preparation for a final decision on the value of the mandatory offer to be submitted to Vodafone for buying its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt.
According to sources close to the deal, the submission of the mandatory purchase will be officially announced on 15 July at 5pm Riyadh time. STC may also instead announce the extension of the due diligence agreement, according to the agreement that was extended in April for a period of 90 days.
In case STC announces that it has made a mandatory purchase offer, Vodafone Group will have three options, either to approve, reject, or enter a new round of negotiations on the financial value.
At the end of January, Vodafone and STC announced that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would see the former sell its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt to the Saudi company. The two parties reached an agreement that would see Vodafone sell all its shares in its Egypt unit at a value of nearly $2.4bn.
The sources added that the Saudi mobile operator remains interested in the deal and will send its mandatory offer about the 55% purchase. At the same time, the sources confirmed that STC is not willing to buy the remaining 45% owned by Telecom Egypt (TE).
The ownership structure of Vodafone Egypt is divided into 55% belonging to Vodafone Group, 44.8% belonging to TE. The remaining 0.2% stake belongs to shareholders.
The potential deal is subject to the provisions of Chapter 12 of Egypt's executive regulations of the Capital Market Law No 95 of 1992 regarding purchase offers with the intention of acquisition.
TE's Board of Directors has agreed to appoint a strong alliance that includes both EFG Hermes and Citibank as investment banks, in addition to Al-Tamimi and Co as legal consultant. The alliance will provide a full study of the options available to TE regarding dealing with its stake in Vodafone Egypt.
The company will announce the results of that study and any developments once they emerge, however, the study's time-length has yet to be announced.
The sources indicated that the STC is expected to agree with VIS on an extension of at least a month to the negotiations period for several reasons. These include the limited time to present the due diligence to financial advisors, as the company completed this only at the end of June.
The recent and ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has also affected global markets and consumer spending on telecommunications services. It is expected, according to sources, that the deal will be officially closed by this coming November.
Naeem Research maintains its BUY recommendation on TE with a target price of EGP 19.1 / share, disregarding its eventual position in the transaction (whether to sell, retain or raise its stake in Vodafone Egypt).
The deal, which values Vodafone Egypt at an enterprise value of $4.35bn, implies a fair value of EGP 18/share for TE, including just its standalone investment in Vodafone Egypt. This also excludes its underlying business.


Clic here to read the story from its source.