DT to buy stake in Croatia state telecom
( 2001-07-03 10:54) (7)
The Croatian government said Monday it had agreed to sell another 16 percent in state telecom operator HT to Deutsche Telekom for 500 million euros (US$423 million), allowing the German giant to raise its stake to a majority 51 percent.
"We are pleased to announce that we have agreed with Deutsche Telekom the terms of the sale of 16 percent of Hrvatski Telekom," said a government statement Monday.
"This represents an important step in HT's development...It also lays a basis for further liberalisation of the telecommunications market," it said. DT bought 35 percent in HT for US$850 million in late 1999.
On top of the price, the long and arduous talks included issues such as the third GSM licence planned for this year, UMTS licences and the new telecommunications law. The government had initially appeared reluctant to grant DT majority in the lucrative HT, which posted a 915 million kuna (US$106.4 million) net profit in 1999.
The decision still needs to be ratified by parliament, which is currently in session.
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