Orascom Confirms Talks With Vimpelcom Are On

Orascom Telecom's Executive Chairman Naguib Sawiris has confirmed previous press reports that his holding company Weather Investments is in talks with Russia’s Vimpelcom over possible merger plans involving assets including Weather’s controlling stakes in the Egypt-based Orascom group and Italy’s Wind. Whilst talking to press on a visit to Orascom’s Canadian subsidiary Globalive Wireless (Wind Mobile), the Egyptian entrepreneur also confirmed that he was open to discussions with any potential strategic international partner for Weather/Orascom, Canadian paper the Global & Mail reported. Sawiris said: ‘We are not only talking to [Vimpelcom], we are talking to anybody ... We have two things on our agenda right now – solving the Algerian issue [where the local government wants to block attempts to sell Orascom’s mobile unit Djezzy] and, second, finding a good partner for the group.’ He also declared it was possible that Wind Mobile could eventually acquire other Canadian cellular start-ups such as Mobilicity and Public Mobile.

Vimpelcom 'About to Buy' Weather

Reuters reports that Russia’s Vimpelcom and Naguib Sawiris are ‘close’ to signing a term sheet for the sale of the Egyptian tycoon’s holding company Weather Investments, which owns 50%-plus-one-share of Egyptian-based mobile group Orascom Telecom and 100% of Italian telco Wind Telecomunicazioni as well as controlling Greek operator Wind Hellas.

The report, citing Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, said that Sawiris is looking at selling Weather to Vimpelcom with help from Lazard, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup. Vimpelcom declined to comment on the Il Sole 24 Ore report today whilst Orascom was not immediately available for comment.

Russian Cellco in Orascom Bid

Reuters, quoting Russian newspaper Kommersant, reports that Russian cellco Vimpelcom is considering a potential deal to purchase 51% of Egyptian cellular group Orascom Telecom as well as take control of Italian full-service telco Wind Telecomunicazioni by buying out the two companies’ mutual holding company Weather Investments.

Weather Investments is controlled by Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris.

The Kommersant report, which did not name its sources, said Vimpelcom could pay for the deal with cash and shares, with Sawiris and his partners getting approximately 20%-23% of voting rights in Vimpelcom, which currently has a market value of USD22.6 billion.

The potential deal, worth an estimated USD6.5 billion without debt, would reduce the stakes of Russia’s Alfa Group and Norway's Telenor in Vimpelcom to around 35% and 27% respectively, from 44.65% and 36.03% at present, following the Russian firm’s merger earlier in the year with Ukraine’s Kyivstar. Elsewhere, Wind’s Greek sister telco Wind Hellas is currently receiving offers from potential new investors as it aims to restructure its capital.