VENTURES AFRICA – Ahmad Julfar, CEO of Etisalat, UAE’s biggest telecom operator, has said he is still awaiting Vivendi’s decision on its offer for 53 percent of the French telecoms giant’s shareholding in Morocco’s Maroc Telecom.
Earlier this year, the Abu Dhabi state-owned Etisalat, said it had organised an $8 billion “dual-tranche” credit facility to pay for its acquisition of Vivendi’s stake in Maroc Telecom.
This followed Vivendi’s announcement of plans to divests its 53 percent stake from Maroc, Morocco’s biggest telecoms company and use the proceeds of the sale to shrink its debt.
Etisalat had been working with BNP Paribas as financial adviser, organising an $8 billion funding.
This was Etisalat’s first open attempt to buy a foreign company since its $12 billion effort for a controlling stake in Kuwait’s Zain collapsed more than 24 months back.
Julfar told Reuters that Etisalat had not made an offer for the Morocco government’s 30 percent stake in Maroc Telecom.
It is understood that in accordance with Morocco’s financial legislation a buyer could be forced to make an offer for the free float shares.
