Saudi Arabia's largest telecoms operator Saudi Telecom Co (STC) on Sunday said no agreement has been reached to buy a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt, and that the parties have agreed to keep dialogue open.
In January, STC signed a non-binding agreement to buy the stake for $2.4 billion, extending the offer in April and again in July.
Originally expected to close in June, the deal would have been STC's biggest in over a decade and valued Vodafone Egypt at$4.4 billion.
STC ended the second extension "without reaching an agreement to conclude the transaction due to misalignment with relevant parties," it said in a stock exchange filing.
“An understanding has been reached between STC and Vodafone Group to keep dialogue open”, the statement said.
With 44 million subscribers and a 40% market share, Vodafone Egypt is the country's biggest mobile operator. STC is majority owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
