A committee of finance ministry officials rejected Telekom Austria’s E1.1bn bid for a 51% stake in Telekom Srbija for failing to fulfil financial conditions, according to reports The revised bid that the Austrian company submitted on 4 May still fell…
A committee of finance ministry officials rejected Telekom Austria’s E1.1bn bid for a 51% stake in Telekom Srbija for failing to fulfil financial conditions, according to reports The revised bid that the Austrian company submitted on 4 May still fell short of the minimum price of E1.4bn set by the authorities.
Telekom Austria said it regretted the refusal of its renewed offer.
In a release it said: “As a publicly listed corporation, the Telekom Austria Group followed economic criteria in the preparation of the offer which would have assured long-term value creation both for the company and the share-holders of the Telekom Austria Group. At the same time, the Telekom Austria Group is convinced that the current offer is attractive and reflects the market conditions in a fair way. It would have allowed the Government of Serbia to enter into a sustainable long-term partnership.” On 21 March, Telekom Austria was the sole bidder for the stake, placing a conditional offer of E800-900m plus a commitment to capital expenditures of E450m over a threeyear period.
Serbia owns 80% of the telecoms incumbent, while Deutsche Telekom-owned OTE controls the rest.
The government is advised by Citigroup, while Telekom Austria is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Raiffeisen Investment.
