Alkan chairman accepts Telecom Egypt offer

CAIRO: Alkan chairman Mohamed Nosseir has accepted Telecom Egypt s offer of LE 100 ($17.42) a share for the business group s 5 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt, a Vodafone Egypt spokeswoman said. The company has been notified that the chairman has submitted sell orders for Alkan s stake, investor relations manager Marwa El Ayouti told Reuters. At LE 100 a share, the Alkan stake would be worth LE 1.2 billion. Telecom Egypt is seeking 24.4 percent of Vodafone Egypt, which would increase its total stake to 49.9 percent. Nosseir is also chairman of Vodafone Egypt. Egyptian media had speculated that Nosseir was unhappy with the Telecom Egypt offer and was preparing a counter-offer by Alkan and allies at a higher price. But Vodafone Egypt s market price has not risen above LE 100 since Telecom Egypt made its offer on Sept. 20. Brokers say they expect many of the small shareholders to accept Telecom Egypt s offer too, some of them for fear that the stock might become illiquid. Vodafone Group, which has a 50.1 percent majority stake, says it has no plans to sell any of its shares. State-owned Banque du Caire holds 3.4 percent and the remaining 16 percent of the shares are free-floating. Analysts say Telecom Egypt s bid to increase its stake is in response to its failure to win Egypt s third mobile licence, which went in July to Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates for LE 16.7 billion.