Vodafone said on Monday that Saudi Telecom Co (STC) has substantively completed the due diligence for selling its 55 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt business for $2.4 billion.
Vodafone Egypt is the country’s biggest mobile operator with 44 million subscribers and a 40 percent market share.

Vodafone, the London-listed telecom firm, said that despite the expiry of a memorandum of understanding, the company remains in talks with Saudi Arabia’s largest telecoms operator to finalise the deal in the near future.

“Vodafone now looks to STC and Telecom Egypt to find a suitable agreement to enable the transaction to close,” Vodafone Group said in a statement.

On Sunday, STC said no agreement had been reached to buy the stake in Vodafone Egpyt, and that the parties have agreed to keep dialogue open.

STC had in January signed a non-binding agreement, before citing coronavirus-driven logistical challenges to seek extension twice, first in April and then in July.

Originally expected to close in June, the deal would have been STC’s biggest in more than a decade.