Ooredoo, formerly known as Qatar Telecom, has raised USD12 billion to fund its planned acquisition of a majority 53% stake in Maroc Telecom, its CEO Nasser Marafih said yesterday. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Jordan, Mr Marafih went on to say that his company also plans to ramp up its overseas acquisitions, after increasing its stakes in businesses in Kuwait, Iraq and Tunisia last year. Bloomberg quotes the official as saying: ‘We’re aware that we’ve not done any acquisitions lately, but have increased our stake in our existing companies … There are companies that will be available for consolidation and when they become available, we will pursue them.’
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database writes that earlier this month, French media and telecoms group Vivendi confirmed the receipt of two binding offers for its 53% controlling stake in Maroc Telecom from Etisalat and Ooredoo. Neither company has disclosed the value of their binding bids, although Etisalat has reportedly secured a USD8 billion dual-tranche loan facility to finance its bid, while separately, Ooredoo looked to line up its own loan facility. The Kingdom of Morocco owns a 30% stake in Maroc Telecom, whilst 17% is publicly floated. Vivendi wants to complete the sale by October, according to people familiar with the situation.