But he absolutely wanted to control Meditel

Finally! France Telecom took position yesterday on the Moroccan market. The historical operator acquired 40 of the capital of Medi Telecom for EUR 640 million. It is the first acquisition of scope of the mandate of Stéphane Richard, appointed Director General, France Telecom in March. Beyond, French, advised by Jean Peyrelevade, former boss of the Crédit Lyonnais, and Oddo society, takes a position in a growing market. Stéphane Richard table "on an average growth of 7 per year of Meditel sales" in the course of the next few years. Created in 1999 with the help of Portugal Telecom and Telefonica, Meditel is the second operator of the country, behind Morocco Telecom, 53 owned by a certain Vivendi.

"Orange is both a good operation on the strategic plan, and an attractive price," says Mehdi Ben Said, Pyramid Research analyst. According to his calculations, the French group will pay $ 200 per customer, which remains very reasonable for an emerging country: when Indian Bharti bought Zain Africa activities, he paid $ 236 per client, and the the African MTN coveted Orascom had offered $ 280.

10 million mobile customers

Meditel has more than 10 million customers in the mobile, or 37 of market share. The Group achieved a turnover of EUR 465 million last year. The operation was reached quickly enough. Different parties have made contact in April 2010. The Fund deposits and management and the Financecom, the two Moroccan shareholders, were seeking an industrial partner. The operator of the Gulf, Etisalat, has long been on the ranks. But he absolutely wanted to control Meditel. What the Moroccans have refused. "When the Moroccan financial resumed participation of Telefonica and Telecom Portugal, I had told them that have a capital telecoms operator would bring value to the Group and Moroccan consumers", said Ahmed Rema Chami, Minister of industry, trade and New Technologies, in Casablanca yesterday. "It is an alliance that is designed in a development perspective in the countries of the Maghreb," held to indicate Othman Benjelloun, President of the Financecom. "We have just the religion of the partnership", said Stéphane Richard, who believes that France Telecom development in emerging markets through alliances with local actors. "The passage to the Orange brand is a possibility that it will require study," still conceded the leader.

France Telecom, interest is obviously to grow in a market of the future. Stéphane Richard intends to double turnover in Africa and the Middle East by 2015. It was in 2009 of 3.4 billion. It is on track. In six months, the new strong man of the operator was able to resolve the ancient dispute with the Egyptian Orascom, first mobile operator in the country, which has nearly 25 million mobile customers. By integrating fully Mobinil in its activities, the Group thus doubled the number of customers in emerging countries. Last may, the operator services were launched in Tunisia where France Telecom had previously purchased a license, with the added bonus of a temporary exclusivity in 3 G. And, in the Moroccan case, France Telecom has the opportunity to purchase additional capital by 2015, up to 49 of the capital. As Medi Telecom could be introduced in the Casablanca stock exchange next year, the French may, as soon as it will be 49, consolidate the entire Medi Telecom accounts in its own.