France Telecom will now provide service solutions for the mobile phone venture, and is in keeping with the French operator’s strategy for growth in emerging markets.
Egypt is seen to be a key market to France Telecom’s Conquests 2015 project, and it bought out most of Orascom’s stake in Mobinil last year for $3.11 billion, increasing its stake to 94%.
Orascom will see the payout as an added bonus, as most analysts expected the company to simply lose the service contract because of its low stake in Mobinil.
Egyptian company Orascom now only has a 5% stake in the mobile operator, but vies for dominance in the market through a joint venture with Vodafone.
Reuters reports that Orascom could soon sell its remaining shares in Mobinil, or issue a dividend payout to France Telecom shareholders.
