Two bidders have emerged for the Slovenian incumbent Telekom Slovenije.
The sale of the operator was delayed in July 2014 while the previous government awaited the results of that month’s parliamentary elections.
As speculated in January, when it was announced that the privatisation process would be resumed, Deutsche Telekom and investment fund Cinven both proved to be interested in acquiring the operator. Both bidders are reportedly offering around €110-115 (around $120) per share, although neither has commented on this.
These bids are actually below Telekom Slovenije’s market price due to certain liabilities: in addition to decreasing revenues, the operator is facing legal action on numerous fronts for allegedly abusing its market dominance.
The fixed-line incumbent, Telekom Slovenije also leads the country’s mobile market with around 1.15 million connections, giving it a 52% market share. Worth around $1 billion, it is the largest of the 15 state enterprises that the government elected to privatise in 2013. The revenue from these privatisations will be used to reduce public debt – roughly 81% of GDP last year.
