France Telecom takes over Mobinil

France Telecom has taken full control of Egyptian mobile carrier Mobinil, after settling a lengthy legal dispute with local operator Orascom Telecom and shelling out Eur530m for Orascom’s holding in Mobinil.

Back in 2007, Orascom initiated a lawsuit against France Telecom seeking to force the French carrier to transfer its Mobinil shares over to Orascom.

However the court ruled in France Telecom’s favour and required Orascom to transfer its entire stake in Mobinil to France Telecom.

France Telecom holds 71.25 per cent of Mobinil, a holding company owning 51 per cent of ECMS, which is the mobile operator that offers services under the Mobinil brand. However, the 20 per cent interest that Orascom holds directly in ECMS, as well as the free float of ECMS, do not fall within the scope of the ruling.

But as a result of the ruling, France Telecom will be able to consolidate the entire financial results of ECMS, representing additional annual revenues of over Eur360m.

As of the end of 2008, Mobinil had 20.1 million subscribers and around 43 per cent market share, making it the market leader ahead of Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat.