The Latvian incumbent telco Lattelecom is to allow Blackstone Group to become a majority (51%) shareholder in the company. According to reports, the investment group will pay LTV90 million (€129.8 million) for the stake in Lattelecom, which is currently owned by the Latvian state (51%) and TeliaSonera subsidiary Tilts Communications (49%). The privatisation is being undertaken through a LVL290 million management buy-out and will see the management retain a 49% in the telco following completion of the deal, which is expected this November. As part of the deal, TeliaSonera will gain overall control of the leading Latvian mobile operator LMT.
