Cairo – Mubasher: Egyptian billionaire and business tycoon Naguib Sawiris is reportedly considering investing in Brazil’s ailing telecom operator Oi.
Sawiris “may have had a change of heart when it comes to Oi SA,” Bloomberg has said, citing the businessman as saying that he might invest in the telecom giant if the Brazilian government takes the “right step.”
In late 2016, Sawiris had reportedly made an offer to invest, along with other bondholders, $1.2 billion in Oi; however, in October, he said he was unlikely to carry on with such an investment.
In June 2016, Oi, previously known as Telemar, filed for a $19 billion bankruptcy protection.
Sawiris’ interest “was revived” after recent judicial rulings said that Oi’s CEO had the power to negotiate a restructuring plan with creditors and present it before court without approval from the shareholder-controlled board, the news agency said.
“We are waiting for the government now to take some steps,” Sawiris said in a Bloomberg interview, indicating that Oi’s “stakeholders have been fighting and wasting time. If the [Brazilian] government takes the right step and they need an industrial operator like us we are willing to go there and help.”
Oi currently owes BRL 11 billion ($3.36 billion) to telecom regulator Anatel, in addition to other debt to government agencies and state banks.
Oi’s current CEO Eurico Teles, who took over after Marco Schroeder resigned amid board tensions, has until 12 December to present a plan to court ahead of a general creditors’ meeting slated for 19 December.
Other foreign investors are keeping close watch on developments in Brazil’s largest telecom operator as well. Chinese telecom giant China Telecom Corp. is awaiting the conclusion of the debt restructure before submitting an offer to Oi, Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported last week, but did not name the sources it had quoted.
