Weather to complete Vimpelcom bid review on Friday

Reuters, Friday 24 Dec 2010

Sawiris reveals timescale over revised bid for his Weather Investments

Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris has said that his company Weather Investments would complete on Friday a review of a revised offer from Vimpelcom for telecom assets.

Vimpelcom announced in October the proposed acquisition of Weather assets including a controlling stake in Egyptian mobile firm Orascom Telecom and all of its Italian operator Wind.

Vimpelcom's Norwegian shareholder Telenor has refused to lend its support.

Sawiris’s comments came when he spoke to Egyptian financial daily al-Mal and were later confirmed by a company official.

The paper said that Sawiris declined to disclose the details of the changes to the original offer.

Telenor has not elaborated on its objection to Vimpelcom's bid. Analysts have said that the firm objects to undisclosed requests by Sawiris to have more board members and better rights than his 20 percent stake in the combined company would constitute.

Sawiris said in a television interview on Tuesday that the value of the deal will not change.

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