Slovenia plans to hold management presentations on the privatisation of Telekom Slovenije in November ahead of a sale in early 2015, according to a senior state official.
Matej Runjak, on the management board of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH)…
Slovenia plans to hold management presentations on the privatisation of Telekom Slovenije in November ahead of a sale in early 2015, according to a senior state official.
Matej Runjak, on the management board of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH) which is coordinating the process, told TelecomFinance in early October that his team thinks it is “manageable” to hold the presentations in the second half of November.
Originally scheduled for September, they – and the entire privatisation process – have been delayed as a result of Slovenia’s parliamentary elections and the formation of the new government.
New Prime Minister Miro Cerar has told media his centre-left coalition cabinet, which took office last month, will support plans to privatise the incumbent telco – one of Slovenia’s largest companies – and 14 other companies.
SDH already has parliamentary approval to conduct the privatisation but would also like the formal approval of the state, which is the telco’s largest shareholder, Runjak explained.
Slovenia, which mandated Citi as its financial adviser for the process, received first-round bids from both strategic and financial potential investors before the process was suspended in early September. Bidders reportedly included Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, Russia’s MTS and Turkey’s Turkcell as well as private equity firms Apax, Bain Capital and Providence.
Runjak said he is hopeful first-round bidders will maintain their interest, saying they have been kept updated on developments.
“I do believe there will be strong competition,” he said.
He stressed that SDH is eager to complete the process as quickly as possible, saying [w]e’re optimistic that it can be finalised by the first quarter of next year”.
Runjak said it is “very important” for Slovenia, which narrowly avoided having to request an international bailout last year, to privatise Telekom and other companies to improve finances and encourage foreign investment.
He noted that it is important for Telekom to have a “strong” owner with the financial clout to boost growth. Ultimately, however, the company will go to the bidder, either strategic or financial, willing to pay the highest price.
A previous attempt to privatise Telekom was abandoned in 2011 but Runjak said he is confident the clearer legal framework this time around together with the “upfront” parliamentary approval, experienced financial and legal advisers on board and relatively advanced stage of the process mean it will succeed.
State secretary Metod Dragonja also told reporters at a conference today that the government expects to sell Telekom Slovenije in early 2015 and will adopt a strategy by the end of the year for further privatisations, Reuters reported.
This strategy will need the approval of parliament, he was quoted as saying.
Cerar told the same conference that Slovenia is committed to pursuing privatisations and attracting more foreign investors.
The state owns 72.38% Telekom Slovenije, which has a market capitalisation on the Ljubljana bourse of €941.11m (US$1.2bn). The remaining shares are held by individual shareholders, local and foreign companies, institutional investors, brokerage houses and the company itself.
