Telecom Egypt has appointed investment banks EFG Hermes and Citibank to assess feasible options for the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt, media reports said. Telecom Egypt has a partial stake in Vodafone Egypt.
Other banks including Al-Mashreq Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank had expressed their interest in overseeing the deal between Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Egypt. If the deal comes through, Telecom Egypt will restructure its mobile operator unit and merge it with Vodafone Egypt.
Last week, Vodafone in a statement said, “Despite the expiration of the MoU that was previously signed between the two parties, Vodafone International is still in the stage of negotiations and discussions with STC to complete the deal in the near future.”
It is reported that STC and Vodafone Egypt will find a mutually beneficial agreement to complete the deal. STC had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vodafone last week regarding the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt. The agreement points to an acquisition of 55 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt. However, it was reported that the agreement was not reached as expected due to differences between both parties.
Under the terms of the deal, the purchase amount of $2.4 billion equals a full valuation of Vodafone Egypt at $4.3 million, media reports said.