Orascom Telecom Media & Technology Holding should explain to Mobinil shareholders why it may sell part of its stake to France Telecom after rejecting a higher bid in 2009, Egypt's markets regulator said. France Telecom said on Monday it reached a preliminary agreement to buy most of Orascom Telecom Media's stake in their Mobinil venture at 202.5 Egyptian pounds (Dh122) a share. The same offer will be made to minority investors in the Egyptian Co. for Mobile Services, also known as Mobinil. That's 42.5 pounds less than an offer by France Tele-com in 2009 that Orascom Telecom Holding, headed by billionaire Naguib Sawiris, blocked in court. Orascom Telecom Media should explain the agreement with France Telecom to its shareholders and those of Mobinil, the Cairo-based Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority said in a statement on its website yesterday. France Telecom made the 2009 bid before Sawiris spun off Orascom Telecom Media from Orascom Tele-com Holding. France Telecom owns about 71 per cent of Mobinil Telecom, which controls Mobinil, and Orascom Telecom Media owns the rest. Orascom Telecom Media also holds a 20 per cent direct stake in Mobinil, while about 29 per cent is traded on the Egyptian Exchange. The shares jumped 10 per cent yesterday to 151.67 pounds, valuing the company at 15.2 billion Egyptian pounds. Sawiris opposed France Telecom's 2009 bid because he said it offered minority shareholders in Mobinil less than the 273 pound price tag set by an international arbitration court for his stake in Mobinil Telecom, the holding company. Mobinil must appoint an independent adviser to assess France Telecom's latest bid, the regulator said yesterday.
Qatar National Bank
Qatar National Bank, which is bidding to buy Dexia's Turkish unit Denizbank, may raise as much as $1 billion (Dh3 billion) from the sale of five-year bonds, five people familiar with the deal said. Initial price guidance has been set at about 245 basis points above the benchmark midswap rate, said the people, declining to be identified because the details are private. Barclays Capital, Citigroup, HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered and QNB Capital are arranging the transaction.
Oman Telecom
Oman Telecommunication, the country's biggest phone company, said full-year profit rose 2 per cent, beating analysts' estimates. Net income increased to 113 million riyals (Dh1 billion) from 110.4 million riyals a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Muscat bourse. The board recommended 100 baizas a share dividend. The average estimate of 10 analysts was for a profit of 109 million riyals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
EFG-Hermes
EFG-Hermes Holding, the biggest publicly traded Arab investment bank, said the company is not under any kind of investigation and that its chief executive officer is performing his duties at its head office in Cairo. EFG-Hermes is carrying out its business as usual in Egypt and the region, the company said in a statement released via the Regulatory News Service. "No charges of any form have been laid against" CEO Yasser Al Mallawany, it said. The company said on February 6 that Al Mallawany was banned from travelling. The shares were suspended from trading yesterday.
Renaissance
Oman's Renaissance Services yesterday reported a 93 per cent drop in its annual profit for 2011 after taking a writedown from a subsidiary and as operating expenses rose. Renaissance 2011 net profit was 2.29 million riyals ($5.95 million), down from 32.28 million riyals a year earlier. The oil services firm said it took an expense of 11.42 million riyals relating to Topaz Marine and Engineering unit. In August, Renaissance said it had uncovered financial misconduct and fraud at Topaz, having pulled the unit's London initial public offering in March, citing valuation concerns and growing regional unrest. Renaissance's 2011 revenue was 289.9 million riyals, up 14 per cent from a year earlier, but operating expenses increased 24 per cent over the same period to 252.8 million riyals. Renaissance also wrote back a tax provision of 3.12 million riyals. The firm's shares rose 0.2 per cent on the Muscat bourse, trimming their losses over the past 12 months to 61 per cent.
