Elektrim and Vivendi extend deadline on telecom deal

The deadline has been extended by which Vivendi of France will finalize a contract with Elektrim on acquiring the Polish conglomerate’s telecommunications assets. The deal was scheduled for conclusion yesterday, but according to Puls Biznesu, Elektrim and Vivendi could not agree on the composition of their respective supervisory boards. However, Puls Biznesu says that a deal should still be finalized by the end of the week, with the contract value remaining as previously agreed. Vivendi is to pay Elektrim around $600 million for control of Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), operator of the Era GSM network. The initial agreement assumes that Vivendi will buy from Elektrim a 2% stake in Elektrim Telekomunikacja (ET) and a 1% stake in the Carcom company, at a price of €100 million. At the same time Elektrim will transfer its Internet and telecommunications companies to ET, at a price of €400 million, of which €89 million has already been paid. The transaction will leave Vivendi with a 51% controlling stake in PTC. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) K.K.