Cairo, January 13: An Egyptian court on Wednesday ruled in favour of Orascom Telecom in its bid to block France Telecom from buying outstanding shares of its telephone provider Mobinil, Orascom’s chief executive said.
“The court decision blocks the offer” to buy the shares, Khaled Bichara told Egyptian television.
“Negotiations between both companies will continue. We are ready for continued cooperation,” with France Telecom, he said.
The court ruling comes after Egypt’s financial regulator last month approved an offer from France Telecom to buy the 28.75 percent stake in Mobinil it does not already own.
Orascom appealed the December ruling, which valued each share at 245 Egyptian pounds (45.05 dollars), saying the price was unfair and the decision contradicted the regulator’s three previous rejections of France Telecom bids.
Mobinil, Egypt’s largest mobile phone provider, had been at the centre of a dispute between France Telecom and Orascom, which took the two giants to arbitration.
France Telecom had made three previous offers to buy the stake in Mobinil, but all were rejected by the regulator.
—Agencies