Vreme: Unless OTE comes up with 1bn euros, we'll float our stake in Romtelecom

The Romanian state plans to float its shares in Romtelecom, the biggest fixed telephony operator on the market on the Stock Exchange if the talks with the OTE Group on the sale of the 46% stake fail, Communications Minister Valerian Vreme was quoted as saying by Mediafax.

The Communications Minister says the state will be waiting for an answer from OTE until the end of March. “Pursuant to the privatisation contract, the Communications Ministry requested OTE to submit an offer to buy the stake the state holds in Romtelecom by the end of 2010, a deadline extended by three months at the request of the Greek group,” Vreme stated.
He said that in case OTE submitted a bid for the Romtelecom stake, it would be evaluated by several analysts. Yet, if less than 1 billion euros are offered, chances of the deal being closed are slim, Vreme says.