América Móvil has announced that it has entered into an agreement to buy 21% of Telekom Austria's share base, acquiring the shares from Marathon Zwei Beteiligungs, a subsidiary of RPR Privatstiftung, the private trust set up by Ronny Pecik.
América Móvil has today acquired approximately 5% of the outstanding shares of Telekom Austria and will acquire an additional approximately 16% stake upon receipt of certain governmental approvals and other authorizations customary in this type of transaction. The acquisition of this additional stake is expected to close during 2012.
After completion of the acquisition of the additional 16% stake, América Móvil's total interest will be approximately 23%.
Pecik is expected to continue to serve as vice-chairman of the Supervisory Board and to support the future development of Telekom Austria.
Telekom Austria, the largest telecommunications company in the country, also provides telecommunication services in Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. As of March 31, 2012, it had 20.3 million wireless subscribers and 2.6 million fixed lines.
A Bloomberg report said that Austria’s state assets agency OeIAG, which holds 28.4 percent and is Telekom Austria’s biggest shareholder, welcomed America Movil taking a stake.
OeIAG spoke with several potential investors about Pecik’s stake in the company, according to a statement. It was looking for someone who would commit to the headquarters in Vienna for Austria and central and eastern Europe, maintain a listing on the Vienna Stock Exchange and follow a sustainable growth strategy, it said.
“America Movil has met those goals in a convincing way,” OeIAG CEO Markus Beyrer said.