Cosmote ups stake in AMC
Greece’s largest mobile phone company, Cosmote, will increase its stake in Albanian Mobile Communication (AMC) by 12.6 percent in a deal it says will improve its cash flow management. Cosmote, the mobile arm of OTE telecom, said it will purchase the stake for 48.2 million euros from the Albanian government, boosting its holding in AMC to 95 percent. «Further to the [stake’s] attractive valuation, the increase will allow Cosmote to further improve group cash flow management,» it said. In the first nine months of 2008, AMC had revenues of 144.7 million euros and operating income of 76.3 euros from its 1.31 million subscribers in a country of 3.2 million. It faces competition from Vodafone Albania and Turkey’s Eagle Mobile. Albania’s Deputy Economy Minister Enno Bozdo described the sale as being «very successful and another vote of confidence by foreign investors in Albania,» Reuters reported.
