The privatisation of Telekom Srbija has collapsed once again as Serbia’s prime minister Aleksander Vucic announced today that all six offers for the incumbent had been rejected.
The privatisation of Telekom Srbija has collapsed once again as Serbia’s prime minister Aleksander Vucic announced today that all six offers for the incumbent had been rejected.
Vucic (pictured) said all the proposals were higher than the €1.1bn (US$1.21m) the state received in 2011, but not quite as much as the government and trade unions had hoped for, according to newswires.
Serbian reports have suggested particular opposition to the sale from local unions. Political opposition was also one of the main factors that derailed the sale of Telekom Slovenije earlier this year. Cinven had been the sole bidder in that process.
Lazard – led by TMT managing director Vincent Le Stradic – began the sale process in late June with the government said to be asking €1.5bn (US$1.65bn) for its 58.11% stake.
New York-based fund Colbeck Capital was reportedly the highest bidder, offering €1.47bn (US$1.61bn), beating bids by private equity and strategics on both sides of the Atlantic.
The report suggested that another fund, Yucaipa, was working alongside Colbeck, with financing in place from Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Raffeisen and advice from Peter Fojo, who headed up Nextel Mexico before its sale to AT&T earlier this year.
Telekom Slovenije was said to be a bidder in the Telekom Srbija process, as well as financial investors Novator, Mid Europa, Apollo (which according to some reports was working alongside Telekom Slovenije) and Advent Capital, a person with buy-side knowledge said.