Cesky Telecom: Up to ten bidders registered in the tender Friday was the deadline for registering in the tender for the state’s 51% stake in CT. The National Property Fund should comment on the number of registered investors today. There was conflicting news on the number of registered investors on Friday, which ranged from 8 to 10. The names mentioned were Swisscom, TDC, Vodafone, Belgacom and Telefonica from telecoms operators. Financial investors included CVC Capital Partners, BlackStone, Providence, PPF and J&T. Note that originally there were 19 potential investors interested in the privatization. Preliminary bids are due on February 3. Source: Bloomberg
Separately, Czech PM Stanislav Gross told Bloomberg that he is optimistic that the state’s stake in CT will be sold to a strategic partner and he sees enough credible bidders to give the state sufficient guarantees.