The Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) government could deny the Croatian incumbent Hravtski Telekom (HT) the right of first refusal on the sale of the telco HT Mostar.
Poslovni reports that HT is closely following developments around the recently announced further privatisations of HT Mostar and BH Telecom this year.
Rather than giving HT first refusal on HT Mostar, as is guaranteed under the terms of a contract signed by the Croatian telco and BiH government, the sale could be undertaken through the stock exchange. HT currently holds a 39.1% stake in HT Mostar, with a further 5.2% owned by HP Zagreb and 50% by the BiH government. Meanwhile, BH Telecom is 90% owned by the BiH government, with minority shareholders holding the remaining 10% that they acquired through an IPO.
HT Mostar posted a profit of BAM8.3 million (€4.2 million) in 2014, own from the KM14.4 million and BAM17.9 million in 2013 and 2012 respectively.
Although BH Telecom is a significantly more lucrative business, its profits have also fallen in the last few years, from BAM131.7 million in 2012 to BAM126.6 million in 2013 and BAM78.5 million in 2014.
