(Ondřej Daťka) The Prague Business Journal newsweekly yesterday reported that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering taking a part in Cesky Telecom’s (CT) privatization. The EBRD has reportedly discussed the issue with the advisers to the government and to KPN. EBRD’s role could be potentially useful in a scenario where a strategic investor would not want to buy the government’s entire government’s stake (51%). KPN and TelSource, the existing strategic investors in CT, already own a combined 33.5% stake in CT, and may not necessarily want to buy the entire 51% stake; the EBRD could then step in and buy some of the government’s stake. The issue of EBRD’s participation is nonetheless still open.
The government should decide on the timing and method of Cesky Telecom’s sale by the end of September.