Government mulling OTE share sale?
The Greek government may reduce its stake in OTE telecom by 10 percent in a bid to raise cash and help solve its fiscal problems, the world’s largest brokerage Bank of America Merrill Lynch was cited as saying in local press reports yesterday. Greece’s economic problems are boosting the chances of a further 10 percent in OTE being sold to Deutsche Telekom (DT), in a move that would give the German company complete control of OTE, the bank said. The Greek state currently holds a 20 percent stake in the phone company with DT holding another 30 percent. Contacted by Kathimerini English Edition, a Finance Ministry official said the government has yet to finalize its sell-off program for 2010, which targets privatization revenues of 2.5 billion euros. OTE has a market value of some 5.2 billion euros.
