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EBRD sells stake in Hungarian telecom firm Matáv
The EBRD last week sold its stake in the Hungarian telecom company Matáv Rt.,
the market leader in fixed-line, mobile and internet services in Hungary and
one of the country’s largest companies in terms of turnover. The 13,495,276
shares represented all of the EBRD’s remaining shares, or 1.3 per cent of
total Matáv shares. The exit price per share represented a small discount to
Friday’s closing price of HUF837 on the Budapest stock exchange.
The Bank acquired its stake in Matáv in November 1993, when it provided much
needed funds to help prepare the company for privatisation. Subsequently,
Matáv was successfully privatised in December 1993, followed by an IPO in
November 1997. Deutsche Telekom acquired a majority stake in Matáv in July
2000.
The shares, which are listed on the Budapest and New York stock exchanges,
were placed with international institutional investors through Credit Suisse
First Boston as bookrunner.
EBRD Business Group Director Peter Reiniger said the Bank’s longstanding
involvement with Matáv – which amounted to more than €250 million of debt and
equity finance – played a critical role in the company’s evolution. It is a
good example of how the Bank has worked to support the transition process, he
added. The EBRD is proud to be associated with this model of modernisation and
privatisation of a utility in central Europe. The Bank remains committed to
investing in and developing innovative products for the new EU member states
in their post-accession transition phase.
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