The value of public joint-stock company Ukrtelecom over the period since the sale of a 92.79% stake in it to Austria's EPIC at a privatization tender for Hr 10.575 billion in Mar 2011, has fallen, and the stake cost SCM less, Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF), Oleksandr Riabchenko, has said.
“Who will pay Hr 10 billion today? – of course it is less,” he said, commenting on the possible price of the deal announced on June 5, 2013 on the acquisition of a 92.79% stake in Ukrtelecom by the SCM Group from EPIC.
He said that as SCM bought Cypriot UA Тelecominvest Limited, which holds a 100% stake in ESU LLC (Ukraine), which earlier bought the stake in Ukrtelecom, the said re-sale of the stake does not require agreement with the SPF.
“If another shareholder appeared at Ukrtelecom, then the deal has to be agreed. This changes nothing for us: the buyer has its liabilities of the same volume,” Riabchenko said.
He added that ESU fulfills its liabilities taken during the acquisition of Ukrtelecom.
“A richer investor has appeared and we’re very glad,” he said.
As reported, since the moment of the transfer of the operator to the private company, the price of its shares fell by four times: a 93% stake in Ukrtelecom on the stock market is today valued at Hr 2.6 billion. Director of the analytical department of Concorde Capital investment company, Oleksandr Paraschiy, said that the value of a deal between SCM Group and EPIC on the purchase of Ukrtelecom is likely to be Hr 7-9 billion.
Ukrtelecom is a large fixed communications operator in Ukraine and promotes 3G standard mobile communications in the country, having the only license in the country.
In 2010, Ukrtelecom was in the red: its net loss came to Hr 258.77 million under Ukrainian accounting standards. In 2012, the operator saw Hr 366.8 million in net profit under international financial reporting standards.
