The French-Saudi telco connection

Each week Arabian Business turns the spotlight on a leading company.

I hear that majority stakeholder Oger Saudi may look to offload some shares...

You're absolutely right, for once. Telecoms group Oger Telecom is expected to raise US$25bn this year by selling a large stake in the business, although it has not been confirmed whether a single deal will fit the bill, or several minority stakes will be sold to raise the amount. It has, however, been rumoured that French media group Vivendi has been negotiating the purchase of a 33% minority stake in Oger Telecom from controlling stakeholder Saudi Oger.

For how much?

The value of the deal is expected to reach between US$2bn and US$3bn. Meanwhile, the other minority stakeholders are primarily local banks, alongside private equity holders Deutsche Bank and ABN Amro - which itself is in the middle of a long-running bidding war between Barclays Bank, and a three-tier consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Vive la France, then?

C'est possible. Vivendi owns a controlling stake in SFR, France's second largest mobile network operator, and holds a stake in Maroc Telecom, the leading telecoms company in Morocco. Vivendi is also the owner of the world's largest music company, Universal Music Group, adding to an already impressive portfolio. And Saudi Oger looks keen to do business.