The State Property Fund of Ukraine plans to hold an auction on December 28 to sell the state’s 92.8% stake in telecoms incumbent Ukrtelecom, according to newswire reports.
The government has reportedly approved the deal and the starting price has been…
The State Property Fund of Ukraine plans to hold an auction on December 28 to sell the state’s 92.8% stake in telecoms incumbent Ukrtelecom, according to newswire reports.
The government has reportedly approved the deal and the starting price has been set at Hr10.5bn (E948m). Ukraine has hired Millennium Capital as adviser for the privatisation, according to the reports.
The sale of the telecoms incumbent has been expected for many years, but the political environment has so far prevented any transaction from taking place.
Ukrtelecom was the only operator to receive a 3G licence in 2005, doing so without an auction, which caused anger among privately-owned mobile operators Astelit, MTS Ukraine, URS and Kyivstar.
It is widely believed that the Ukrainian authorities are reluctant to grant other mobile operators a 3G licence because Ukrtelecom received its licence with a view to dressing it up for privatisation.
