Bouygues says ‘non’ to rumoured Orascom sale

French construction-to-telecoms conglomerate Bouygues Group says it has no plans to divest its telecoms division, despite rumours that Egypt’s Orascom Telecom has expressed an interest in merging with the company. Yesterday, CommsUpdate reported that Naguib Sawiris, the chairman of Egyptian communications group Orascom Telecom, told the French paper La Tribune he was interested in acquiring Bouygues Telecom if its parent was willing to sell. The French paper said that while no formal discussions had taken place, Sawiris would be interested in a tie-up in order to reinforce its presence in the Mediterranean and create other synergies.