Deutsche Telekom seeks majority stake in Era GSM

Deutsche Telekom (DT), which holds a 45% stake in mobile telecom operator Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), is talking to other shareholders in the company about increasing its stake. "Our objective is a majority stake [in PTC]," said DT's spokesman Hans Ehnert. Elektrim Telekomunikacja, a joint venture of Elektrim and French group Vivendi, currently holds 51% of PTC. DT's plans have been known for a long time, as the German telecom protested the transaction in which Elektrim boosted its stake in PTC to 51%. Arbitration proceedings regarding this protest have not yet been concluded, but now the two sides are negotiating a settlement which would give DT the majority. PTC is one of three GSM license holders in Poland and operates the Era GSM network. Analysts say that given the recent failed third-generation UMTS license auction, Elektrim has chosen the right moment to sell a stake in PTC. The fiasco means that current GSM operators will remain the dominating force on the Polish mobile telecom market. (Puls Biznesu, p.8, Gazeta Wyborcza, p.25)