France Telecom acquired 40% stake in Meditel, Morocco’s second-largest mobile operator, for 640 million EUR. The initial transaction, which brings Meditel’s valuation to 2.14 billion EUR, is the first phase to fully consolidate the Morroco’s operator into France Telecom’s accounts by 2015.
France Telecom’s new CEO Stéphane Richard described the deal as “the first concrete step in our new policy of expansion outside Europe” and part of the plan to double revenues in Africa and the Middle-East over the next five years.
Meditel has recorded revenues of 465 million EUR in 2009 and with 10.4 million connections at the end of the second quarter, it held a 37% of the market. In addition to France Telecom, the operator’s other owners include CDG (Morocco’s state investment house) and FinanceCom (a private holding company). Meditel’s main competitor is Maroc Telecom, which commands 57% of the market and is owned by French media conglomerate – Vivendi (which runs SFR in France).
[Via: MobileBusinessBriefing]