Negotiations with Telecom Egypt and the government of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) have accelerated in recent days to buy 20% of Vodafone Egypt's shares for more than USD 1 billion, two sources familiar with the deal told Al-Sharq.
Telecom Egypt, the country's largest telecom operator, owns a 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt, while the Egyptian government owns 80% of Telecom Egypt.
Vodafone Egypt was the focus of STC's attention, as a preliminary agreement was reached for the kingdom's largest telecom operator to acquire 55% of Vodafone Egypt for $ 2.4 billion, but in January last year the two companies announced that talks had ended without reaching an agreement. The company was valued at $4.35 billion, a 20% stake, according to the latest valuation, equivalent to $870 million.
Over the past months, many acquisitions of Egyptian stocks have been made at low prices, in light of the decline in the market values of shares after the interest rate hike, and the decline in the value of the Egyptian pound to the lowest level in its history.
