The privatisation of Telekom Slovenije may not take place this month as expected as bidders want more information on the incumbent telco’s potential legal liabilities, according to finance ministry state secretary Metod Dragonja.
Speaking to a…
The privatisation of Telekom Slovenije may not take place this month as expected as bidders want more information on the incumbent telco’s potential legal liabilities, according to finance ministry state secretary Metod Dragonja.
Speaking to a parliamentary board for the supervision of public finances, Dragonja said bidders were concerned about several court cases against Telekom Slovenije for alleged abuse of dominant market position, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed.
However, Dragonja stressed that the government and Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH), which is coordinating the privatisation of Telekom Slovenije and other state-controlled companies, are doing all they can “to keep the highest possible dynamics of the … process”.
SDH declined to comment on the matter.
In mid-January, local media reported that the deadline for second-round bids was likely to be extended to mid-February as a result of lawsuits brought against the operator. According to the reports, these could result in Telekom Slovenije having to pay up to €440m (US$500m in damages).
German incumbent Deutsche Telekom, which has assets in other parts of the CEE region, is widely considered to be the favoured buyer. In December, local media reported that the German incumbent and London-based private equity firm Cinven were the sole two suitors remaining.
Previous suitors reportedly included private equity firms Providence, Bain Capital and Apax Partners.
SDH management board member Matej Runjak told TelecomFinance last October that he was optimistic the privatisation could be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2015.
The state owns 72.38% of Telekom Slovenije, which has a market capitalisation on the Ljubljana bourse of €954.18m (US$1.09bn). The remaining shares are held by individual shareholders, local and foreign companies, institutional investors, brokerage houses and the company itself.
