State-owned Slovenian operator Telekom Slovenije will be privatised next month.
The country’s government has initiated a plan to sell 15 companies that were initially suggested for privatisation back in 2013. The proposed deadline for this plan is the end of 2016.
Telekom Slovenije leads both the fixed and mobile markets, and is worth around $1 billion. It has around 1.15 million mobile connections. It is expected to attract the highest price of the state-owned enterprises included in the initiative, as it is the largest of them.
Interested parties reportedly include the investment funds Cinven and Providence, as well as Deutsche Telekom.
The programme is being coordinated by Slovenian Sovereign Holding. The fund’s head Matej Pirc said that there was “a clear determination among leading politicians to complete the sales processes”, despite dissenting voice from civil society groups and the opposition party.
Slovenia’s public debt in 2014 was around 81% of GDP, and the country is aiming to generate at least €1.5 billion through the privatisation initiative to help reduce this.
Telekom Slovenije’s sale was suspended in July by the country’s previous government as they awaited the results of that month’s parliamentary election.
