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Sunday, 10 December 2017

Is OTMT looking to make another play at Oi?

Is OTMT looking to make another play at Oi? Naguib Sawiris reportedly said he is again interested in embattled Brazilian telecom Oi — if Brazil’s government “takes the right steps,” according to Bloomberg. Sawiris’ second change of heart came after the court presiding over Oi’s bankruptcy said the operator’s CEO has the power to negotiate a restructuring plan with creditors and present it to court without approval from the shareholder-controlled board. Sawiris had said back in October that he had lost interest in the company after a creditor vote on a restructuring plan to help it exit bankruptcy protection was delayed four times. OTMT had offered in December an exchange of debt for shares and a capital injection of as much as USD 1.25 bn in Oi, which filed last year for Brazil’s biggest ever bankruptcy protection to restructure USD 20 bn of debt. The Orascom bondholder group had committed to underwriting the entire capital injection if no other investors stepped forward.

Sawiris may now have to contend with serious competition, though, as Chinese telecom giant China Telecom Corp also will reportedly also present a firm offer after following the conclusion of the debt restructuring.

Speaking at the Business for Africa 2017 Summit, Sawiris also made a number of other announcements, including:

  • Expect a fresh investment from OTMT in 2018 as the company has USD 250 mn to deploy and may borrow a similar amount.
  • OTMT is considering starting a residential- and second-home development business in Egypt.
  • The company is also planning two agri-business projects in Cote D’Ivoire in 2018 worth about USD 30 mn each. It is also looking at similar projects in Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan and South Sudan
  • OTMT is studying mining projects in Niger and Mauritania.

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