Croatia’s Optima Telekom is delaying a stake sale originally scheduled for this year, even if it is able to find a buyer.
Poslovni reported that the operator came to this decision after a recent earthquake in Zagreb, as well as the ongoing Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Optima is seeking buyers for two stakes – a 17.41% stake held by Hrvatski Telekom (HT), and a 36.90% holding owned by Zagrebacka Banka. Unconfirmed reports have suggested that two possible bidders are interested in obtaining both stakes – the Netherlands’ United Group and Austria’s A1 Group.
In addition to Optima’s decision, the country’s regulator HAKOM (Croatian Postal & Electronic Communications Agency) is delaying its planned implementation of a new framework for market surveillance aimed at monitoring HT’s wholesale pricing.
The methodology is intended to ensure that the incumbent HT cannot push its competitors – many of which, including Optima, are also its customers - out of the market by escalating its wholesale prices.
