Slovenian cableco Telemach and Telekom Austria are reportedly interested in acquiring Slovenia’s third-largest mobile operator Tusmobil.
Slovenian publication Finance quoted Serbian cableco United Group, which operates in Slovenia and Bosnia and…
Slovenian cableco Telemach and Telekom Austria are reportedly interested in acquiring Slovenia’s third-largest mobile operator Tusmobil.
Slovenian publication Finance quoted Serbian cableco United Group, which operates in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Telemach brand, as saying the company is looking at all assets for sale in Slovenia, including Tusmobil, Debitel, T-2 and smaller cable operators.
However, the company, which provides pay-TV, telephony and broadband services, reportedly declined to elaborate as proceedings are ongoing.
Tusmobil could sell for about €150m (US$188m), the Finance report stated.
Meanwhile, Telekom Austria, which owns Slovenia’s second-largest mobile operator Si.mobil, was also named as a potential suitor for Tusmobil, which is wholly-owned by Slovenian businessman Mirko Tus’ Tus Holding.
A spokesperson for Tusmobil said the company is not surprised “several companies” are interested in buying it as it has been the country’s fastest-growing mobile operator for several years.
“Since it is our wish to continue to provide our users with the latest mobile telephony services, we are not ruling out any form of strategic partnership which would bring said users new added value.
“In today’s Slovenia, anything is probably available for sale, provided the right partner makes the right offer.”
A spokesperson for Telekom Austria declined to comment on the rumours, citing company policy. However, he pointed out that its strategic focus is on convergence and in-market consolidation in countries it is already active in.
“In Slovenia, we are neither convergent, nor have we seen any market consolidation yet,” he said.
Telemach and United Group, majority-owned by US-based private equity firm KKR, were not immediately available for comment.
Slovenia’s largest mobile operator is state-controlled Telekom Slovenije.
