TELECOM ITALIA SELLS 29% OF TELEKOM SERBIA

Info-Prod Research (Middle East), December, 2002

Telecom Italia SpA (TI) agreed to sell its 29 percent stake in Telekom Serbia to government-owned Ptt Srbija for EUR195 million, according to Italian newspapers on Sunday.The Serbian state, which already controls 51 percent of the telecoms group, will provide an initial EUR120 million payment no later than April 2003, when the deal is anticipated to close, with a remaining EUR75 million to be paid by July 2008.

TI and Ptt Srbija must wait 60 days before shares can change hands, since Greek telecoms company Ote owns 20 percent of Telekom Serbia, and consequently has a two-month long right of first refusal on the TI stake.