Deputy Finance Minister Jan Mladek ruled out the placement of the state’s Cesky Telecom stock on public markets

According to the local Euro business weekly, Deputy Finance Minister Jan Mladek ruled out the placement of the state’s Cesky Telecom stock on public markets, and suggested that his ministry will propose a strategic investor for the government's entire 51% stake. At the same time, Mladek did not rule out a possible coordination of the sale with KPN. This is nothing new, and the market is still waiting for the Cabinet's decision on the method and timing of CT privatization; the decision is due by the end of this month. Euro also reported that the idea of a management buy-out for Cesky Telecom was floated some time ago by several top managers, but met with little success.

(Ondřej Daťka)