Cesky Telecom BoD reportedly proposed to dismiss Eurotel CEO Valeski

The Supervisory Board of Cesky Telecom (CT) reportedly refused a CT BoD proposal that called for the dismissal of Eurotel CEO T. Valeski, the Czech Press Agency reported yesterday. Both CT and Eurotel (CT's 100%-owned mobile arm) have declined to officially comment on the issue. Note that after the acquisition of the additional 49% stake in Eurotel, CT is trying to take tighter control over its mobile subsidiary, which has led to some tension between the CT and Eurotel management. Nevertheless, the government wants both companies to operate rather independently until their joint privatization (which is expected to begin in H2 2004) in order to attract more interest, as some investors might be interested only in a part of the company and would split it after the privatization. Moreover, the IT ministry said it would be irresponsible to change the management of one of the most successful Czech companies.

Jan Hájek, Patria Finance