The government of Robert Fico is preparing one of the biggest state sales since its appointment in April 2012. The Economy Ministry has already launched negotiations with German company Deutsche Telekom over selling the state’s minority share in its subsidiary, Slovak Telekom, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reported on July 19.
At the moment, Deutsche Telekom owns 51-percent of the stock, while Slovakia controls 49 percent.
“The initial meeting with German shareholder took place in June,” spokesperson for the Economy Ministry Stanislav Jurikovič told Hospodárske Noviny, adding that they did not say whether they are interested in buying the shares.
The next meeting should take place this autumn. According to Hospodárske Noviny, Fico might discuss the sale with head of the German firm Rene Obermann.
Head of Slovak Telekom Miroslav Majoroš declined to comment on the negotiations, saying that the board of directors of the company does not have any influence on this process, Hospodárske Noviny wrote.
The state acquired together €900 million due to increasing the share of Deutsche Telekom in the Slovak telecommunication company in 2002, with another €600 million received through dividends in the past 10 years. Former economy minister Juraj Miškov assumed that the sale of the remaining stock might reach €1 billion, Hospodárske Noviny wrote.
Source: Hospodárske Noviny
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
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