Orange is in advanced talks to buy 40 percent of Moroccan operator Meditel for EUR 650 million from CDG and FinanceCom, reports Moroccan weekly Actuel. Meditel refused to comment to Reuters, and no one was immeditately available at government investment holding company CDG or privately-owned investment group FinanceCom. France Telecom confirmed its interest in the Moroccan market, but could say no more at this time. Meditel is the main rival of former monopoly Maroc Telecom, which is backed by Vivendi. It also competes with ONA subsidiary Inwi. Meditel lost two shareholders last September, Telefonica and Portugal Telecom, which sold their two 32.2 percent stakes for slightly under EUR 900 million to CDG, RMA Watanya and FinanceCom, the latter two owned by Othman Benjelloun, who already held 5 percent of Meditel. At the time, FinanceCom and CDG did not rule out the possibility of bringing on a new investor if it would help boost Meditel's share value. The UAE's Etisalat and Egypt's Orascom Telecom both expressed interest. The new owners also considered a flotation on the Casablanca bourse.
