Talks on Telekom Slovenia sale to end in May - state fund

Telekom Slovenije, D.d

21/04/2015 12:02

By Marja Novak 
    LJUBLJANA, April 21 (Reuters) - Slovenia plans to complete 
by mid-May talks with investment fund Cinven  CINV.UL , the only 
bidder for the country's telecom operator Telekom Slovenia 
 TLSG.LJ , said the head of the state investment fund SDH, which 
is coordinating the sale. 
    "Talks with the only bidder are continuing and we expect the 
process will be concluded in the middle of May," Matej Pirc told 
Reuters on Tuesday. However, he could not say if the sale would 
be completed or called off. 
    "The sales consortium is certainly trying to sell the 
company but it all depends upon the terms," Pirc added. 
    Cinven did not reveal the size of its bid but sources close 
to the process told Reuters it had offered about 110 euros per 
Telekom share, which disappointed the markets.  
    Telekom, with market capitalisation of 765 million euros, is 
the largest of 15 firms that the previous government earmarked 
for sale in 2013. So far four of those firms have been sold. The 
government controls 72.75 percent of Telekom. 
    Telekom shares fell shares 3.46 percent to 113 euros by 1046 
GMT on Tuesday, while the blue-chip SBI index  .SBITOP  lost 
0.79 percent. 
 
 (Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Zoran Radosavljevic and) 
 ((Marja.Novak@thomsonreuters.com; +386-1-50508805; Reuters 
Messaging: marja.novak.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SLOVENIA TELEKOM/