Cesky Telecom: Cabinet to decide on CT tender on February 9

According to the National Property Fund (NPF) spokeswoman, the Cabinet should decide on February 9 whether to continue with the tender for the state’s 51% stake in CT or sell it via capital markets. Note that the deadline for preliminary bids is February 3. The PM and deputy PM both recently spoke in favour of the tender, apparently seeing a good chance of CT being sold to a single bidder.

Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin said that the company is considering bidding for CT and will make its decision within a month. As the deadline for preliminary bids is February 3, we assume that Vodafone will make a formal bid then make its decision after the due diligence due in mid-February. Source: Bloomberg

Eurotel, CT’s 100% mobile subsidiary, reported that according to an independent market survey conducted by AISA, its market share among companies with over 200 employees stood at 77% in August 2004, while its market share among companies with less than 6 employees reached 48%. We see Eurotel’s strong position among corporations as positive, as their ARPU’s tend to be higher compared to the retail segment.