Pristina mayor Shpend Ahmeti said on June 25 that Serbian state-owned telco Telekom Srbija has placed the highest bid worth €155mn to acquire its Kosovan peer IPKO Telecommunications, but that the bid should be rejected.
“Telekom Srbija placed the highest bid for IPKO of €155mn. The bid should have been blocked. A few years ago the bid by the Albanian Elvin Guri for Telenor Bank was blocked by Serbia’s central bank. Recognition first!” Ahmeti said in a tweet.
He was referring to Kosovo's political goal, for the country, a former Serbian province, to be recognised by Belgrade as a separate country.
Serbian broadcaster RTS reported on June 25 that Telekom Srbija has made a non-binding offer for the purchase of IPKO, adding that the company cannot provide more information due to the non-disclosure agreement.
“It is known that Telekom Srbija has a clear ambition to expand its business, so this offer is another step in the realisation of that goal,” company officials were cited as saying
Telekom Slovenije started the process of selling its 100% stake in Kosovo’s IPKO in July 2019 in line with its divestment strategy.
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