Telekom Austria (VIE:TKA) has registered its intent to bid on the privatisation of Telekom Srbija, four years after the Serbian government rejected a €1.1bn offer.
The Austrian incumbent, itself controlled by America Movil, has sent a letter of intent…
Telekom Austria (VIE:TKA) has registered its intent to bid on the privatisation of Telekom Srbija, four years after the Serbian government rejected a €1.1bn offer.
The Austrian incumbent, itself controlled by America Movil, has sent a letter of intent to buy the government’s 58.1% stake, reported local newspaper WirtschaftsBlatt.
A spokesman for Telekom Austria was not available by press time. The Vienna-based telco was the sole entity to submit a formal bid for a 51% stake in Telekom Srbija during a 2011 privatisation process, however the goverment rejected it as too low.
Deutsche Telekom (FWB: DTE) is also in the running for the majority stake, according to a Reuters report. The German incumbent, which took full control of Slovak Telekom earlier this year, held a 20% stake in Telekom Srbija via its Greek subsidiary before selling it back to the state in 2011 for €397m. It too expressed interest in Telekom Srbija in 2011, but did not submit a formal bid.
Telekom Austria was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Raiffeisen during the 2011 privatisation, while Deutsche Telekom was reportedly advised by Goldman Sachs.
Serbia’s privatisation agency earlier this month requested that prospective buyers register interest by 23 July and lodge non-binding bids by 2 August.
In 2011, the government’s €1.4bn (US$2.03bn) price tag was not met, and this time prime minister Aleksander Vucic has suggested that he wants adviser Lazard to seek an even higher bid citing Serbia’s improved investment climate. Lazard’s team is being led by its managing director of TMT, Vincent Le Stradic, and vice president Christophe Gehin, according to documents issued by the privatisation agency.
To qualify to participate in the auction, potential buyers must be either a telecoms operator with revenues of more than €500m (US$559m) a year, or a well-capitalised investor.
An investor must have at least €2bn (US$2.2bn) under management, have accumulated at least €500m (US$559m) over the past 10 years, or have held at least a 10% stake in a telco – which itself has generated more than €500m (US$559m) in annual revenues – for at least 10 years.
The state owns 58.11% of Telekom Srbija, with a further 20% held by the company as treasury stock, and the remainder by Serbian citizens and the telco’s current and former employees.
The privatisation is part of a wider initiative to sell off state assets under Serbia’s most recent budget balancing agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
