A Financial Times report this morning says that, according Cesky Telecom CEO P. Klima, AT&T Wireless and Verizon Communications did not accept Cesky Telecom’s USD 1.1 bil. revised bid for the 49% stake in Eurotel. The preliminary bid from July stood at USD 1.475 bil., but Cesky Telecom decided in September to re-negotiate the price. There have been reports that the revised bid is around USD 1.1 bil., and its rejection will likely be seen as negative news, because it means that either the deal will be transacted at a higher price, or that it will be canceled altogether, at least until after Cesky Telecom’s privatization. According to the FT report, Cesky Telecom should make a decision sometime this week on “when to buy” the rest of Eurotel.
(Ondrej Datka)