RomTelecom deal to be signed on Friday

The negotiations between Romanian authorities and officials of the Greek group OTE over the RomTelecom privatisation have been completed; the two parties are prepared to sign the contract on Friday, January 24, the Communications and Information Technology Ministry (MCTI) reports. The ministry says the final draft of the contract – agreed by both parties, will be submitted to the Government for approval during its meeting this week. The law on continuing the privatisation of the national fixed telephony operator is expected to be published in the Official Gazette some time over the next few days. The law stipulates OTE shall subscribe a stake worth $242.62 million. The transaction will be carried out in form of a cash inflow worth $145 million, with the rest of the money to be covered by turning into shares OTE’s receivables over RomTelecom, which amount to 55 million euros and $42.6 million. At the same time, OTE will buy a $30.99 million interest in the company, which will raise the total transaction value to about $273 million. This operation, calculated at $31.17/share will enable OTE Telecom to acquire control over 54% in the Romanian national fixed telephony operator. ZF