Sawiris Triumphs in UK Supreme Court

LONDON, July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK Supreme Court today dismissed all claims brought against Naguib Sawiris (Chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology S.A.E.) by Italian businessman Alessandro Benedetti, who claimed he was entitled to a one-third stake or cash equivalent (€3.7 billion) in Weather Investments II sarl, for work related to its acquisition of Wind Telecommunicazioni SPA.

In its judgment today, the Supreme Court dismissed Mr. Benedetti's appeal in its entirety and upheld Mr. Sawiris' position that Mr. Benedetti has no legal right to any shares in Weather Investments, which reduces Mr. Sawiris' liability to zero. Mr. Benedetti is also liable to pay Mr. Sawiris' legal fees.

"My family and I are very happy with the Supreme Court's decision that puts an end to this dispute once and for all. We feel justice has been served and we look forward to moving on," said Mr. Sawiris.

The Supreme Court's decision is the ultimate conclusion to this litigation, which has seen the courts consistently reject Mr. Benedetti's arguments and support Mr. Sawiris' position.

Mr. Benedetti commenced his case against Mr. Sawiris and certain Sawiris family companies in 2007. Mr. Benedetti argued that he should be entitled to a stake or cash equivalent in Weather Investments, either on the basis of a purported agreement he alleged he had with Mr Sawiris or alternatively as a quantum meruit, in connection with the Wind acquisition, the largest leveraged buyout in Europe in 2005.

The Supreme Court's decision is a resounding victory for Mr. Sawiris, who was represented in the litigation by Kirkland & Ellis.

The decision is available here: http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/news/latest-judgments.html