UAE’s Etisalat Bids For Maroc Telecom Minority Shareholdings

Etisalat, which this month bought a 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom, has submitted a mandatory tender offer to buy the remaining shares in the Moroccan firm, the United Arab Emirates operator said on Wednesday.

Morocco regulations state an acquiring company must offer to buy out minority shareholders if it owns 40 per cent or more of the voting rights of the company.

Etisalat has submitted its tender to the Moroccan authorities for their approval, the company said in a bourse statement, but did not reveal the price per share it has offered.

Under bourse rules, acquiring companies do not need to offer minority shareholders the same price they paid in the original acquisition.

Etisalat bought Paris-listed Vivendi’s stake in Maroc Telecom last week for 4.14 billion euros ($5.7 billion).

The Moroccan government is the second largest shareholder in Maroc Telecom with a 30 per cent stake, while the free-float is around 17 per cent.