The Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has announced that no agreement has been reached with Vodafone International Group regarding the Saudi company’s proposed purchase of a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt.
In a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange on Sunday, STC said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it had signed with Vodafone International Group had expired without the two sides reaching an agreement. The deal fell through “due to lack of compatibility with the concerned parties”, STC noted.
“An understanding has been reached between STC and Vodafone Group to keep the dialogue open,” the Saudi company added.
In a report last week, Bloomberg said that STC had been negotiating with Vodafone International Group to reduce the value of the offer to buy the stake in Vodafone Egypt.
Last January, STC offered to buy the global telecoms company’s stake in its Egyptian unit for $2.39bn. Currently, Vodafone International Group owns a 55% stake in the company’s Egypt operations, which was the target percentage of the Saudi purchase offer. The remaining 44.8% is owned by TE, and 0.2% is owned by small shareholders.
