DT loses legal battle against Elektrim over Era stake

An Austrian arbitration court has dismissed all the claims against Elektrim by Deutsche Telecom's (DT) subsidiary DT Mobil in a long-running case over the purchase of a key stake in PTC mobile phone operator (Era GSM). The two groups went to court after Elektrim took control of PTC in 1998, buying out minority shareholders without giving DT an opportunity to increase its stake in the company. DT also argued Elektrim's near bankruptcy last year has put the conglomerate in "material default" of PTC shareholders' agreement, which would have allowed the German firm to acquire Elektrim's interest in the top Polish GSM mobile operator for a price amounting to a fraction of its market value. The court is yet to decide on which side will be required to pay massive legal fees for the case. (Parkiet, p. 1) J.K.