Telecoms giant France Telecom has completed its mandatory tender offer to acquire 94 per cent of Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil, owned by Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT).

In a statement issued to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Mobinil announced that the shares were transferred on 27 May. The French operator has increased its shareholding from 36 per cent, buying 93.9 million shares at £E202.5 each, valuing the acquisition at $3.15bn. OTMT has retained a 5 per cent shareholding in the company. The remaining 1 per cent is free float on the EGX.

First day of trading began on 28 May with a set opening price of £E202.5. It fell 9.64 per cent to LE182.97 by the end of the day.

 “We submitted a mandatory tender offer in April to acquire all the remaining parts we did not have in Mobinil with the exception of 5 per cent for OTMT. The total cost of the transaction of the whole deal represents $1.88bn, taking into account we already had 36 per cent before,” says a spokesperson for France Telecom.

The acquisition was expected to have been completed earlier on in the year, but the political uncertainty and bureaucracy in Egypt held up the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority’s (EFSA) approval of the tender offer.