France Telecom lifts Mobinil stake to 94%

France Telecom has tightened its control of Mobinil, its mobile phone venture in Egypt, the most populous Arab country where mobile subscriptions are growing rapidly.

The French telecoms operator confirmed it had acquired 93.9 per cent of Mobinil in a tender offer, completing a €1.5bn deal first announced in April to buy out most of the shares owned by local tycoon and Mobinil founder Naguib Sawiris. Under the deal, France Telecom raised its stake from 71 per cent by buying most of the shares it did not already own from Sawiris’s Orascom Telecom Media and Technology. Sawiris will retain a 5 per cent capital stake in Egyptian Company for Mobile Services, the listed vehicle that operates the Mobinil brand, but his voting interest will remain at 28.75 per cent to assuage local concerns about national ownership.