The Serbian incumbent Telekom Srbija has said it is unlikely to be taken over by A1 Telekom Austria Group.
Quoted by Vecernje Novosti and B92, Predrag Culibrk, Telekom Srbija’s general manager, referred to a recent report saying that A1 had €500 million to invest in acquisitions in the region.
He added that even if it offered €1 billion it would certainly not be enough to buy Telekom Srbija, which in his view is worth a lot more.
Culibrk also confirmed that Telekom Srbija is itself in negotiations to take over a number of cable operators in Serbia. It is majority owned by the Republic of Serbia and financially capable of both investing in its infrastructure and undertaking such transactions.
Culibrk said Telekom Srbija has a stable share of 46% of the mobile telephony and around 25% of the TV markets in Serbia.
Consolidation is very much on the agenda, with the country being served by 90 TV operators, around 200 ISPS and over 20 fixed-line telephony providers, as well as three main mobile companies.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, the privatisation of Telekom Srbija looked likely to happen three years ago but was called off as the offers received were too low.
A earlier attempt to sell the company also fell through in 2011 when Telekom Austria’s bid was again deemed to be too low.
Broadband TV News notes that there was widescale opposition to the sale of Telekom Srbija and this would probably again be the case should the company come on the market.
