Telekom Austria:No Interest In Minority Stake Of Telekom Srbija
02 September 2010 - 11:46PM
Dow Jones News
Telekom Austria AG (TKA.VI) isn't interested in acquiring a
minority stake in Telekom Srbija that the Serbian state is planning
to sell, Chief Executive Hannes Ametsreiter said Thursday.
The Serbian government is planning to sell a chunk of Telekom
Srbija, and according to Serbian media, Telekom Austria is being
speculated to be one of the most likely buyers. The company had
previously declined to comment on the issue, but Ametsreiter
Thursday made it clear any interest would depend on the size of the
stake being offered up for sale.
"If they sell only 40%, we are not interested," Ametsreiter said
on the sidelines of an economic forum. "It would be of no interest
to us to be a minority shareholder," he added.
Ametsreiter, however, declined to comment on whether the company
would consider a potential bid for Telekom Srbija if the country
were to privatize more than a minority share.
"If the situation changes we'll have to see. But again, we don't
comment on rumors," Ametsreiter said.
Serbian media cited unnamed government sources as saying a block
of shares corresponding to 51% of the total share capital could be
privatized.
Telekom Srbija is currently 80% owned by Serbian state-owned
infrastructure company PTT Traffic Srbija, while Greek Hellenic
Telecommunications Organization, or OTE (OTE), holds a 20% stake.
The Serbian state has hired Citigroup Inc. (C) to plan and handle
the privatization of a large stake in the company later this
year.
The country had planned to divest a 40% stake, but Citigroup has
recommended that PTT Traffic sells a stake of at least 50% of the
company to make the deal attractive.
-By Flemming Hansen, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 500;
flemming.hansen@dowjones.com (Natascha Divac in Frankfurt
contributed to this article.)
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