The German incumbent Deutsche Telekom is interested in increasing its stake in the Greek telco Hellenic Organisation of Telecommunications (OTE), according to media reports.
The Greek Ministry of Finance said in a presentation on Friday that it was…
The German incumbent Deutsche Telekom is interested in increasing its stake in the Greek telco Hellenic Organisation of Telecommunications (OTE), according to media reports.
The Greek Ministry of Finance said in a presentation on Friday that it was looking to sell part of the Greek state’s share in OTE, which stands at 20%.
This was one part of a series of stake sales and privatisations that were designed to reduce the public debt burden.
Local media reports last week suggested it was looking to sell a 10% stake in OTE.
Deutsche Telekom currently holds a 30% stake in the company, while international institutional investors and Greek institutional investors collectively own stakes of 30.2% and 9.7% respectively.
DT acquired a 25% plus one share stake in OTE in May 2008 and granted the Greek state two put options to sell further stakes. Under the first option, the state sold a 5% stake to DT the following year.
The second option would enable Greece to sell a 10% stake in the company. It has until the end of this year to exercise that option.
When the put options were originally announced in 2008, DT said that if the second put option were exercised, the price per OTE share would be based on the weighted market price of the share plus a premium of 20% initially that would later fall to 15%.
DT confirmed that “whenever they [the Greek state] decide to exercise this put option, Deutsche Telekom is obliged to buy”.
A spokesman for OTE would not comment.
