Elektrim bondholders fight off competition from BRE and Eastbridge

BRE Bank and Eastbridge consortium made an offer to purchase a 49% stake in Elektrim Telekomunikacja (ET) owned by Elektrim. This was not a detailed document, but it may become a base for future negotiations. Unofficial sources say that BRE asked for exclusivity in talks about purchasing ET, but a counter offer worth euro 450 million was made by a group of Elektrim bondholders represented by Elliot Advisors. This offer had so many common points with the one from ET that there is speculation that information from BRE Bank was leaked, even if Elektrim bondholders deny such a claim. The first meeting of Elliot Advisors and Elektrim representatives took place yesterday, but no decision was made. Any official proposition would have to be accepted by the supervisory board of Elektrim where both BRE Bank and Eastbridge have their people. Yesterday the board was discussing the election of its new chairman. The top candidate is Jacques Attali, chairman of the supervisory board in Eastbridge, who is in favor of the idea of his company and BRE Bank buying ET. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 8) A.D.