Telekom Austria’s (VIE:TKA) acquisition of Macedonian mobile operator One has won competition approval, removing an obstacle for the privatisation of Telekom Slovenije. The takeover will see One merged with Telekom Austria subsidiary VIP, meaning…
Telekom Austria’s (VIE:TKA) acquisition of Macedonian mobile operator One has won competition approval, removing an obstacle for the privatisation of Telekom Slovenije.
The takeover will see One merged with Telekom Austria subsidiary VIP, meaning Macedonia will become the first European mobile market to shrink from three network operators to two.
One is owned by incumbent Telekom Slovenije, which is in the process of being privatised by Slovenian state investment firm SDH.
Sole bidder Cinven, the London-based private equity firm, stopped short of acquiring the incumbent in June when it demanded that the deal be contingent upon the completed sale of One – a condition rejected by SDH.
Competition approval was seen as the critical hurdle for the One sale.
TelecomFinance understands that Cinven is still watching proceedings in Macedonia closely and may re-evaluate the Telekom Slovenije opportunity further down the line.
Cinven declined to comment on whether today’s approval would lead to a new bid for Telekom Slovenije.
SDH was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment on the impact of the One approval on Telekom Slovenije’s privatisation.
Q4 completion expected
Telekom Austria has indicated that it expects to complete the transaction in Q4, since it still requires approval by Macedonian telecoms regulator AEK in what is predicted to be a simpler process than the antitrust review.
Agreed last October, the merger will create a new entity 55%-owned by Telekom Austria, which will have sole operational control. Telekom Slovenije would via call and put options be able to exit its 45% stake within three years of it closing.
The companies had prior to regulatory delays expected to close the deal in Q1 2015.
To win the blessing of the competition authority, Telekom Austria has had to sign up to a number of commitments, notably a provision to provide MVNO access to its network.
According to AEK figures from Q2 2014, VIP had 27.58% of Macedonian mobile subscribers while One had 25.08%. Together they look set to overtake Deutsche Telekom’s local T-Mobile subsidiary, which accounts for 46.10%.
