M&A WATCH- It looks like TE might be going after OTMT’s MENA Cables after all. Telecom Egypt said it is trying to arrange financing for a potential investment opportunity in submarine cables. The state-run telecom operator is planning to reduce its proposed dividends to shareholders this year, to EGP 0.25 from EGP 1 per share, to make short-term financing available for an “investment opportunity crucial for the continuation of revenue streams [from its] cable business,” according to Reuters. The company refused to reveal any details, saying only that it would go full-disclosure on its mysterious agreement once things were in motion.

This comes as OTMT says that it is still planning to sell MENA Submarine Cable Systems for USD 90 mn, according to a bourse statement picked up by Al Mal. Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) had denied back in December receiving an offer from TE to acquire its submarine cable business, afters news circulated that TE was looking to acquire 100% of MENA in order to link its cables with its own TE North cable, which connects Egypt to France. OTMT was originally set to sell MENA to Network i2i, a subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel, based on a 2016 that appears to have fallen through.