News
Egyptian billionaire talks up troubled Brazilian telco’s potential, says he is open to working with LetterOne.
Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris has expressed interest in investing in Brazil’s Oi, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week after failing to reach a deal with creditors.
Sawiris said in a Bloomberg report last Tuesday that Oi will have great potential once it has restructured its debt, strengthened its financial position, and put a strategic plan in place.
A day earlier, Oi filed for judicial reorganisation, as it is known in Brazil, to protect its operations while it finds a way to address multiple challenges, including the maturity schedule of its debts, Brazil’s economic situation, and the threat to company assets, which could be frozen through legal proceedings.
According to documents published by Oi, the company’s bondholder and bank debt stands at 50 billion reais (€13.43 billion), but some reports put the total figure, including other debts, at BRL65 billion.
"Oi needs a shareholder with a strong telecoms background to solve their operational problems in addition to their financial ones," said Sawiris, who owns a majority stake in Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMTH), in Tuesday’s Bloomberg report.
He would be interested in investing provided he was given exclusivity for talks, he said.
Sawiris would also be open to working with LetterOne (L1) Technology, the Russian investment group which pledged to invest US$4 billion into Oi on condition that it merge with Telecom Italia’s Brazilian arm, TIM Brasil. L1 withdrew its offer in February after the Italian incumbent refused to play ball.
