Polish state-owned railway company PKP has launched a new privatisation process for telecoms unit TK Telekom, aiming to conduct the sale this autumn.
A PKP spokesperson said the sale is set to take place “after the summer holidays”.
The previous…
Polish state-owned railway company PKP has launched a new privatisation process for telecoms unit TK Telekom, aiming to conduct the sale this autumn.
A PKP spokesperson said the sale is set to take place “after the summer holidays”.
The previous privatisation process was shelved in February 2013 after PKP failed to find a buyer willing to match its valuation of the telco.
PKP has already invited investment banks to submit offers to advise on the deal, Reuters reported, citing market sources.
PKP CEO Jakub Karnowski told local publication Rzeczpospolita that the company is “in the process of intense preparation for the privatisation” of TK Telekom, valued last year at about PLN400m (US$132m). Having carried out a reorganisation at the telco, Karnowski said TK “is now much more attractive to potential investors”.
Last August, a spokesperson for the railway company said TK Telekom would be restructured to remove the part of the business responsible for the construction and maintenance of telecoms infrastructure ahead of a new sales process.
Polish telco Netia and German incumbent Deutsche Telkom, which recently acquired infrastructure-based telco GTS Central Europe, are seen as likely buyers, a banker with knowledge of the market told TelecomFinance. Polish telecoms group Hawe was also considered a potential buyer last time around, however the banker does not think it will be keen this time.
“The key issues last time were intra-group contracts with PKP and rights of way as well as the construction business of TK, which is not core for telcos,” the banker said, adding that it is unclear what the scope of the transaction will be this time.
TK Telekom is 100% owned by PKP and claims to operate one of the largest telecoms networks in Poland, stretching nearly 30,000km.
