LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), April 14 (SeeNews) – The fact that the sale of a majority stake in Telekom Slovenije [LJE:TLSG] attracted just one bid is disappointing, a Ljubljana-based analyst said on Tuesday.
On Monday, state holding company SDH, which is coordinating the sale process, said a single binding bid had been handed in for the sale of a 72.75% stake in the incumbent telco. It did not name the bidder but local media have reported it was international private equity firm Cinven. Earlier unofficial reports had tipped Deutsche Telekom as another likely suitor.
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Saso Stanovnik, head of research at investment company Alta Invest, told SeeNews in an email the sole bid was a let-down given the current market environment - cheap financing, high M&A activity and ongoing consolidation in the telecoms industry. "It seems the whole ordeal around Telekom Slovenije's privatization may have discouraged bidders. Or possibly outstanding lawsuits could be a reason for the low interest towards the incumbent telecoms operator."
Telekom Slovenije closed down 6.88% at 119.2 euro ($127.2) on the Ljubljana stock exchange on Tuesday.
"The drop is related to local media reporting the only bid is low - there has been speculation it is between 105 and 115 euro per share," Stanovnik said.
In January, Cinven told SeeNews that it intends to make significant investments in Telekom Slovenije if its bid to acquire the incumbent telco succeeds.
A total of 4,754,523 shares of Telekom Slovenije have been offered for sale by a consortium of sellers comprised of the Slovenian state, pension fund Kapitalske Druzbe Pokojninskega in Invalidskega Zavarovanja, reinsurer Pozavarovalnica Sava [LJE:POSR], insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav [LJE:ZVTG] and SDH.
Telekom Slovenije's consolidated net profit dropped to 1.6 million euro in 2014 from 51.1 million euro a year earlier due to the effects from one-off events.
In 2013, Telekom Slovenije was placed on a list of 15 state firms earmarked for privatization.
Cinven, set up in 1977, has offices in Guernsey, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.
($=0.9374 euro)