Deutsche Telekom AG said Monday that it has agreed to take a 20-percent stake in Greece's biggest phone company in a ¤2.5 billion (US$3.9 billion) deal and hopes to increase the stake even more, reported ap. The Bonn-based company, Europe's biggest telecom, said it would buy the shares in Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA, or OTE, from Greek private equity firm Marfin Investment Group for ¤26 (US$40.46) apiece. MIG currently holds just shy of 20 percent of Hellenic Telecom, making it the company's second-largest shareholder, with slightly more than 98 million shares. Greece's government is the biggest shareholder, with just more than 28 percent of the company. The deal is subject to approval by Deutsche Telekom's supervisory board, the U.S. equivalent to a board of directors, along with the Greek government. Deutsche Telekom said it was hopeful it could hold talks with the Greek government about increasing its stake in Hellenic even more. In a statement, Deutsche Telekom said it hoped to «initiate discussions with the Greek government with the aim to reach agreement in the very near future. «The conditional agreement which was announced today, is a welcome development, compatible with the policy of the Greek government for OTE,» according to a statement released by George Alogoskoufis, the economy minister, and Costis Hatzidakis, the country's minister of transport and communications. However, they cautioned that several «issues remain to be resolved between the Greek government and Deutsche Telecom. The procedures will begin when Deutsche Telecom submits its formal request.» Hellenic's presence extends across Greece and into neighboring countries through its mobile phone unit, Cosmote, which counts customers in Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. Hellenic also holds a controlling share of Romtelecom, the former Romanian telephone monopoly.
