May 26 (Reuters) - Mobinil, Egypt's largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, is the focus of a shareholder dispute between Cairo-based Orascom Telecom (OT) and France Telecom (FT).
Here are some key facts about the dispute:

The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (ECMS), a mobile phone operator known by its trade name Mobinil, is 51 percent owned by a holding company in which France Telecom has a 71.25 percent stake and OT has 28.75 percent. In addition, OT has a 20 percent direct stake. That structure gives OT an overall stake of about 35 percent and FT about 36 percent, analysts say. The remaining 29 percent of the group is traded on the Egyptian stock exchange.

The two groups disagree over the implementation of an agreement they signed in August 2001 as partners in the holding company. Neither have given details of the dispute. The case was referred to the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Geneva in 2007.
Analysts say the two differed over investment strategy for Mobinil. OT was keen to invest more heavily than FT was ready to do, the analysts say.

April 5 -- Arbitration court rules FT should buy OT's stake in the holding company at a price equivalent to 273.26 Egyptian pounds per share. This leads to a new row as OT and Egypt's Capital Markets Authority say FT is obliged to bid for remaining Mobinil shares. FT says any offer is voluntary.
April 7 -- CMA says it rejects an offer by FT for outsanding shares in Mobinil, saying the price is below the one indicated by the court ruling. FT's offer is based on a 33.1 percent premium to the April 5 closing price and corresponds to 199.69 pounds a share, according to Reuters data.
April 13 -- OT says it would prefer to keep its stake in Mobinil.
May 19 -- CMA suspends trading in shares of Mobinil, which last traded on May 18 at 199.53 pounds, and shares of OT, which last traded at 35.71 pounds.
May 20 -- FT says its offer for outstanding shares now stands at about 1.5 billion euros ($2.1 billion). That offer equates to about 239 pounds a share, according to Reuters data.
May 22 -- Regulator says it is delaying a ruling on what it calls the obligatory tender offer from FT for outstanding Mobinil shares.
May 26 -- Investment bank EFG-Hermes, financial advisor for OT, says Mobinil would benefit from retaining a strong Egyptian partner.

(Compiled by Alastair Sharp; Editing by David Holmes) Keywords: FRANCETELECOM ORASCOM/MOBINIL (alastair.sharp@reuters.com; Cairo newsroom +20 2 2578 3290)

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