Orascom Telecom said its rights issue was almost fully subscribed, raising more than $790 million for the mobile operator as it challenges an Algerian tax bill. "This was expected because anyone who did not subscribe would have had his shares hugely diluted," said Ahmed Adel, a telecom analyst at Naeem. Orascom Telecom said 99.67 per cent of the 4.3 billion new shares were subscribed at 1 Egyptian pound apiece, leaving 14.5 million shares to be offered from March 7-10. The secondary offering will close on March 8 for holders of the firm's global depositary receipts. The company said the Egyptian regulator approved the second offering for the remaining shares and full detail would be published in Egyptian newspapers on Saturday. The rights issue was launched in part to ensure liquidity while the company fights a $597 million tax bill which Algeria says is owed by its Djezzy mobile subsidiary. Algerian sources told Reuters in February the government wanted Orascom to exit the country. On Tuesday, Algeria's finance minister said the government treated all telecom firms equally and was only acting to ensure tax was paid. Orascom shares were up 0.6 per cent at 6.40 pounds by 0935 GMT. The benchmark index was up 0.3 per cent.
