While the exact prices of the offers were not clear, sources earlier told Reuters that they had come in lower than the EUR 5 billion Vivendi had initially hoped for and closer to the market value of the stake. Vivendi has been in talks in recent weeks with Etisalat to remove some of the legal clauses in its bid, the sources said. Etisalat has scheduled an extraordinary shareholder meeting on 28 May to approve the financing package for the bid.
Ooredoo, meanwhile, crafted its offer with minimal conditions to make it simple and less risky for Vivendi, the group's strategy chief told Reuters earlier. Vivendi has not asked Ooredoo to improve its offer so far, the first source said. Ooredoo is frustrated with the slowness of the process and what it sees as a lack of communication from Vivendi, said two other sources familiar with the situation.
