Weather Investments, an Italian-based holding company that owns Egypt's Orascom Telecom, said on Monday holders of 744.6 million euros ($1.1 billion) worth of the firm's bonds had agreed to sell them back.

Weather sought to buy back 825 million euros worth of bonds in August, offering to pay the principal plus a fee of 250 euros for each 100,000 euros of principal traded back before Sept. 11.

It is an overwhelming majority, said Sally Gerges, a telecom analyst at Beltone Financial. They've totally removed the risk on these bonds.

The bonds have a 4.75 percent coupon and are due in 2013, but include a put option for February 2010.

The bonds are exchangable for Orascom shares and had weighed on the mobile operator's share price this year.

The final deadline for the purchase is Sept. 18, and the firm will announce whether it has accepted offers after a meeting of bondholders on Sept. 21.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Dan Lalor)

($1 = 0.6870 euro)

Egypt