DT in the frame once again for Telekom Slovenije bid

Slovenia’s infrastructure minister, Samo Omerzel, has been quoted as saying that it is ‘no secret’ that German giant Deutsche Telekom (DT) is one of the major potential buyers of Telekom Slovenije, which has been put up for privatisation in a process expected to start soon. The minister indicated that the government expects DT to bid for the former monopoly telco, although at the same time he denied reports that he had discussed the upcoming sale during a recent meeting with DT’s Croatian subsidiary T-Hrvatski Telekom (T-HT), according to Croatian newspaper Dnevnik. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database shows that a previous attempt to privatise the Slovenian incumbent failed: after launching an international tender for 49.1% of directly and indirectly held Telekom shares in August 2007, the government shortlisted seven strategic bidders including DT, but cancelled the sale in March 2008 after none could satisfy its expectations; the poor quality of bids was partly blamed on negative global economic factors. In October 2012 CommsUpdate reported that the Slovenian government was resuming moves to privatise Telekom Slovenije, this time with a majority stake up for grabs, and with DT viewed as a likely buyer (reportedly via T-HT). In June 2013 the government’s latest privatisation plans for stakes in the telco and 14 other enterprises were approved by Parliament, as part of Slovenia’s efforts to avoid a European Union bailout. The Republic of Slovenia directly owns a 62.54% stake in Telekom Slovenije, while another 9.84% is held by state investment funds.