Telefonica and Portugal Telecom sell Meditel stakes
A group of Moroccan companies has agreed to buy the 32.2 per cent stakes held by Portugal Telecom (PT) and Spain's Telefonica in Morocco's number two telecoms firm Meditel for €400 million (Dh2.1 billion).
Portugal Telecom said in a statement yesterday the buyers were Moroccan insurance company RMA Watanya, privately owned group FinanceCom and Fipar Holding, a unit of CDG fund, which is the government's financing arm.
RMA Watanya and FinanceCom are owned by Othman Benjelloun, who already holds five per cent of Meditel.
Telefonica later confirmed the joint agreement to sell for the same amount as PT. The deal, which gives control of the company to the Moroccan firms, is expected to close by the end of 2009 once regulatory approval has been obtained, Telefonica said.
PT Chief Executive Officer Zeinal Bava said his company would make a capital gain of €270m after tax and said the proceeds would strengthen its balance sheet and financial flexibility, and it remained committed to international development.
"Whilst Morocco has great potential for future growth and Meditel is a reference mobile operator, we are focused on developing our businesses in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa," Bava said.
In Brazil, PT and Telefonica jointly own Vivo, the number one mobile phone company in Latin America's largest country.
PT also has stakes in telecom companies in Angola and Namibia.
Bava said the sale had raised significant market interest. "We are highly impressed by the quality of all the bidders," he added.
Qatar Telecommunications Company (Qtel) had said earlier it was interested in PT's plans to sell its stake in Meditel.
When the possibility of the stake sale by PT was first reported in May, analysts said its share was worth between €300m and €400m.
PT stocks rose 1.6 per cent in early trading to €7.327, outperforming the broader market in Lisbon, which was up 0.3 per cent.
Telefonica shares were up just 0.2 per cent at €17.625.
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