UPDATE 1-INTERVIEW-Orascom head prefers to keep Mobinil stake

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Tue Apr 7, 2009 4:27pm EDT

*OT would use funds to increase dividend

*Eyeing acquisition of Morrocco mobile operator

(Adds how money would be used, possible acquisition)

CAIRO, April 7 (Reuters) - Orascom Telecom's chairman said on Tuesday that OT (ORTE.CA) would prefer to retain its stake in Mobinil after a court ruled that it should sell its shares to France Telecom (FTE.PA), a partner in the Egyptian mobile firm.

"A favourable outcome for me is continuing business as usual and forgetting about the arbitration. We have no desire to leave, but they need to apologise," Naguib Sawiris told Reuters.

Any sale money would be used for acquisitions and possibly increasing the dividend, not repaying debts of OT, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, Sawiris said.

As a potential acquisition, he said his firm was eyeing a stake in Meditel, a mobile firm in Morrocco which is a venture of Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Portugal Telecom (PTC.LS).

A court has ordered OT to sell its shares in its Egyptian unit, Mobinil, to France Telecom after the two firms went to court in 2007 over a dispute about their joint shareholding in a holding company owns 51 percent of Mobinil.

Both companies said the court ruling obliged Orascom to sell its 28.75 percent stake in the holding company to France Telecom, which owns the rest of the holding company. But they disagree on the sale price.

(Reporting by Will Rasmussen, writing by Edmund Blair, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

((edmund.blair@thomsonreuters.com, +20 2 2578 3290, Reuters Messaging: edmund.blair.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MOBINIL/SAWIRIS

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