{"id":635626,"date":"2017-12-10T03:56:22","date_gmt":"2017-12-10T03:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2017\/12\/10\/is-otmt-looking-to-make-another-play-at-oi\/"},"modified":"2017-12-10T03:56:22","modified_gmt":"2017-12-10T03:56:22","slug":"is-otmt-looking-to-make-another-play-at-oi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2017\/12\/10\/is-otmt-looking-to-make-another-play-at-oi\/","title":{"rendered":"Is OTMT looking to make another play at Oi?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Is OTMT looking to make another play at Oi?<\/strong> Naguib Sawiris reportedly said he is again interested in embattled Brazilian telecom Oi \u2014 if Brazil\u2019s government \u201ctakes the right steps,\u201d according to Bloomberg<\/a>. Sawiris\u2019 second change of heart came after the court presiding over Oi\u2019s bankruptcy said the operator\u2019s CEO has the power to negotiate a restructuring plan with creditors and present it to court without approval from the shareholder-controlled board. Sawiris had said back in October<\/a> that he had lost interest in the company after a creditor vote on a restructuring plan to help it exit bankruptcy protection was delayed four times. OTMT had offered in December an exchange of debt for shares and a capital injection of as much as USD 1.25 bn in Oi, which filed last year for Brazil\u2019s biggest ever bankruptcy protection to restructure USD 20 bn of debt. The Orascom bondholder group had committed to underwriting the entire capital injection if no other investors stepped forward.<\/p>\n

Sawiris may now have to contend with serious competition, though<\/strong>, as Chinese telecom giant China Telecom Corp also will reportedly also present a firm offer after following the conclusion of the debt restructuring.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Business for Africa 2017 Summit, Sawiris also made a number of other announcements<\/strong>, including:<\/p>\n