Greek incumbent OTE has reportedly extended the bidding deadline for Bulgarian mobile unit Globul by a month to allow more time to prepare legal documents.
Interested bidders had been expected to make binding offers by 18 March, but OTE postponed the…
Greek incumbent OTE has reportedly extended the bidding deadline for Bulgarian mobile unit Globul by a month to allow more time to prepare legal documents.
Interested bidders had been expected to make binding offers by 18 March, but OTE postponed the deadline until 18 April to give itself and potential bidders more time, according to Reuters citing sources.
Interested parties are said to include Turkish incumbent Turk Telekom, mobile operator Turkcell, Norway’s Telenor and OTE 40% shareholder Deutsche Telekom. The sale is expected to raise about €700m.
An OTE spokesperson declined to comment on the report as the sales process is ongoing.
In late February, OTE CEO Michael Tsamaz said that while the sales process for Globul continues, the group’s recent refinancing measures, which included a €700m bond in January, had mitigated its debt payment risk. OTE also raised €208m from the sale of satellite unit Hellas Sat in February.
“We are looking into the situation in order to ensure that, as always, we optimise interest for the group and its shareholders,” Tsamaz said at the time.
OTE announced its intention to sell Globul and Bulgarian retailer Germanos last year as part of comprehensive plans to tackle debt.
The company reported underlying net debt of €2.882bn at the end of 2012, down nearly €1bn, or 25.4%, on the 2011 result.
