HELSINKI, Finland—TDC, the Danish telecom company that is currently the subject of attention from acquisitive Nordic neighbor Telia, is being linked as a “probable” contender to take over Cesky Telecom, which owns 51 percent of EuroTel Praha, the Czech Republic’s fastest growing mobile operator.
Deutsche Bank has been actively scouting Europe for a telecom partner to acquire Cesky since February. The Frankfurt-based German bank had initially opened takeover talks with Deutsche Telekom. However, the German telecom operator is reported to be “lukewarm” on paying the US$1 billion price Cesky is estimated to bring.
“We cannot comment on current market speculation. We are interested in acquisition opportunities in the Czech Republic, but at this stage the matter is pure speculation,” said TDC’s spokesman Kim Schaumann.
Market analysts in Frankfurt and Stockholm, Sweden, agreed that the “market rumors” are “more than speculation.”
“Deutsche Bank has definitely approached TDC regarding Cesky. It looks like Deutsche Telekom is now completely out of the picture,” said Lars Soderlund, a telecom analyst with Notica Capital in Stockholm.
TDC and Deutsche Bank are no strangers. The two formed part of a wider consortium that secured a majority stake in Ceske Radiokomunikace, the Czech Republic’s second-largest telecom company, in 2001.
If the rumored TDC/Deutsche Bank partnership is factual, this German-Danish consortium would go head to head with Swisscom and OTE, Greece’s second-largest mobile operator. Both companies placed separate bids on Cesky on 28 March. France’s Orange is also reported to be considering a bid, as are consortia headed by German, Italian, Austrian and Dutch private equity funds.
