Turkey’s landline operator Turk Telekom has announced that it will submit an offer for the acquisition of up to a 65 percent stake in the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), reported Sabah. Issued by the Bulgarian government, the tender will close May 27, 2002.
The Bulgarian government hopes to collect close to $100 million from the sale, which has no minimum bid price and is open to both telecom companies and financial investors. The second stage of the two-part tender, when short-listed competitors submit their final bids, will commence in early June with a closure date set for July, confirmed Bulgaria’s privatization agency. The winning bidder will also acquire the right to purchase the country’s third GSM license.
The Bulgarian government has been looking to sell off BTC since 1995. A total of thirteen companies are interested in purchasing BTC shares including Swedtel, DeutscheTelecom, China Telecom and Greece’s OTE, reported BTA.
Turkey’s Constitutional Court recently ruled in favor of a law to privatize Turk Telecom, reported. The landline provider holds a monopoly over the country’s telecommunications sector. The privatization of the state-owned company was a key condition of the government's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to which the IMF would help ail Turkey out of its foreign currency crisis. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
