The Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and Telekom Austria, in which he holds a majority stake, have ruled themselves out of the Telekom Srbija auction.
According to Seebiz and Presse, they are not among the eight bidders for the Serbian incumbent on the grounds of high price and low profitability.
Instead, they will seek opportunities in other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.
Telekom Austria was the only bidder in a previous failed attempt to privatise Telekom Srbija four years ago, when its offer of €1.1 billion for a 51% stake in the company fell €300 million short of the asking price.