Commissioner Barnier said that the preliminary examination over Greece’s agreement with DT on OTE shows that the deal is not in full compliance with the EU public offer directive.
The commission has notified Greece over the issue, requesting clarifications over the reason why there was no public offer for the minorities. Greece’s response is still pending. Note that the argument favouring a public offer relies on the fact that DT and Greece hold 50% of OTE and the two entities act in accordance. On the other hand, the Greek State claims that there is no such obligation, given that the deal was part of OTE’s privatization procedure. In other news, press reports say that the Serbian government is in talks with DT to sell a 30% plus one share stake in Telekom Srbija. The price may reach €1bn. Should the deal goes ahead, DT will take control of TS, given that OTE holds a 20% stake in the Serbian incumbent operator.