Magharebia

Morocco agreed on Thursday (18 November) to a $1.5 billion deal with Vivendi Universal to increase the stake of the French media giant in Maroc Telecom to above 50 per cent. The deal ends months of negotiations between Vivendi and the Moroccan government, which hesitated to transfer majority control of one its most valuable companies to a foreign group.

Last week, the government announced plans to float Maroc Telecom on the Paris and Casablanca stock exchanges by the end of the year. People close to the company expect the initial public offering to be launched as early as the first week of December. Vivendi will pay $1.5 billion in January to increase its stake from 35 to 51 per cent. (FT)