On Sunday the largest telecom operators of Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Co (STC) said that no agreement has been reached to buy a 55 percent share in Vodafone Egypt and it is open for discussions.
In January the STC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy nearly 55 percent of Vodafone Egypt for $2.4 billion, later extending the offer in April and July.
The deal which was originally intended to close in June would have become STC’s biggest purchase in over a decade and give Vodafone Egypt a value of $4.4 billion.
STC ended the second extension made in July by stating that the deal is being ended due to the misalignment of relevant parties.
When STC announced a 90-days extension in April it cited the logistical challenges that occurred due pandemic as a reason even though the MoU was ended before the pandemic crisis.
Vodafone cleared in a statement that they will continue their discussions to conclude their transactions with Saudi Telecom shortly.
Vodafone Egypt is the largest mobile operator of the country with 44 million subscribers and 40 percent market share. The Vodafone International Group owns 55 percent of the country and the remaining 45 percent is owned by Telecom Egypt.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns a major share of the STC.
