Slovenia and U.K. private equity firm Cinven have set a deadline of midnight on Friday for finalising the sale of the government’s stake in Telekom Slovenije.
This is according to local media outlet Finance.si, following the news that Cinven wants to amend the offer it made on 20 May that was accepted this week by Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH), the state-run asset manager handling the sale of the government’s 72.75% stake in the incumbent operator.
The proposed amendments have not been made public, but Finance.si reported on Wednesday that Cinven wants to withhold some of the purchase price until local regulators have issued decisions on the pending sale of Telekom Slovenije’s Macedonian arm and its acquisition of MVNO Debitel.
SDH said in a statement on Wednesday that while its supervisory board consented to Cinven’s 20 May offer, its management board had rejected Cinven’s subsequent amendments. SDH urged both sides to come to a final agreement so the sale can go ahead.
Neither SDH nor Cinven have disclosed the value of the latter’s initial bid. However, sources cited by Reuters said the private equity firm offered to pay between €110 and €130 per share depending on Telekom Slovenije’s performance and the outcome of ongoing litigation.
Cinven emerged as the sole bidder for Telekom Slovenije in April, after the other prospective buyer, Deutsche Telekom, dropped out of the running. Sources cited by Bloomberg at the time claimed the German incumbent was concerned about the value of the asset, as well as unspecified regulatory issues.
