NAGUIB AT WAR WITH EFSA: Naguib Sawiris’ Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) announced yesterday that it is in deadlock with the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority regarding “breaches” attributed to the its major shareholder, the Sawiris-controlled OTMT Acquisition. In a very public raising of stakes, Sawiris’ OTMT — the vehicle that controls Beltone Financial — said it is calling a meeting of its board to discuss how the company will “continue its business given its current inability to expand and perform its core business normally.” The note essentially suggests that OTMT’s shares have been made useless as acquisition capital given the ongoing threat of regulatory action.

Background dates to CI Capital bid: The conflict broke out when OTMT Acquisition asked EFSA for to declare it had no objection to OTMT-Beltone’s c. EGP 1 bn acquisition of CI Capital, for which OTMT had said at the time it had up to EGP 1 bn to lend to Beltone. The bid for CI Capital was scrapped in June after what Bloomberg characterized as “a six-month effort mired in regulatory delays” during which time EFSA declined to issue the certificate of non-objection. Central to the case was EFSA’s insistence that OTMT breached an undertaking in its five-year-old demerger from Orascom Telecom Holdings (more background on the demerger in OTMT’s June 2012 prospectus for its GDRs, pdf).

OTMT claims it has tried since then to patch things up with the regulator and alleges that “EFSA was not able to make a decision to reconcile and conclude the procedures necessary for the reconciliation until date, which had a negative effect on [OTMT Acquisition], [OTMT] and its remaining shareholders, as well as the complications resulting from hindering the acquisition of CI Capital.”

Regulator won’t give a timeframe for investigation: EFSA Chairman Sherif Samy denied yesterday having refused OTMT’s request, saying EFSA is still “looking into the case.” Samy declined to give a timeframe for EFSA’s investigation, Al Mal reported. The newspaper quotes him as saying that by issuing yesterday’s statement, OTMT Acquisitions has signalled that it has unilaterally decided not to move forward with its request.

And on the topic of Naguib: He remains the talk of the town this week for effectively making Cypriot residency available via installments through his 80% stake in the Marina Ayia Napa development. Al Borsa says sales are projected to hit EUR 500 mn.