The new government of Slovenia, which is expected to come into power in September, must approve the privatisation of incumbent operator Telekom Slovenije before it can continue.
The privatisation process was delayed by the previous government in early July as they awaited the results of the July 13th elections. Law professor Miro Cerar emerged as the new prime minister, although his cabinet must first be approved by parliament – a process typically lasting around two weeks.
A new government will be formed via a coalition between Cerar’s SMC party and two others – centre-left party the Social Democrats, and pensioner’s party Desus.
Worth around $1 billion, Telekom Slovenije is the country’s number one mobile provider, as well as the fixed-line incumbent. While it was due to be sold off, both Desus and the Social Democrats tend to oppose privatisation, while Cerar has been noncommittal towards the deal.
Local media have suggested that the situation could be reconciled by selling off the operator’s services business while retaining its infrastructure; it is unclear if this would apply to both its fixed and mobile operations.
Numerous private equity firms, along with major players such as Deutsche Telekom and Turkcell, have expressed interest in buying Telekom Slovenije.
