August 22 (SeeNews) - Croatia's biggest telecoms operator, Hrvatski Telekom [ZSE:HT-R-A], with the backing of parent Deutsche Telekom, is unlikely to encounter much competition in the upcoming privatization process for peer Telekom Slovenije [LJE:TLSG], Zagreb-based media reported.
In June, the Slovenian parliament endorsed government plans to sell state-owned stakes in 15 companies, including Telekom Slovenije.
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Iceland's Skipti, in the frame for the last failed privatisation attempt for Telekom Slovenije alongside BT and Deutsche Telekom-owned Magyar Telekom, is not expected to bid as it is currently undergoing financial restructuring, news daily Poslovni Dnevnik reported on Wednesday.
Norway's Telenor and Telekom Austria declined to comment for the Poslovni article while a spokesperson for BT Global Services told the newspaper the company would not be in the running this time around.
Another possible suitor for Slovenia's incumbent telco, according to Poslovni, is Gazprom Telekom which has already set up a telecoms joint venture with Slovenian system integrator Comita.