Yesterday’s issue of daily Hospodarske Noviny claims that Carlos Slim from Mexico, reportedly the richest man in the world, has his eye set on Slovakia’s 49% stake in telecom giant Slovak Telecom.
Citing an an unnamed but well-informed source, the daily claims that Slim’s company America Movil is hoping to acquire the stake if it is put up for sale, which is now a likely scenario. Just last year the company made its first acquisition in Europe, gaining over 20% in Austrian Telekom, so the expansion plans for the region may be slowly taking shape.
Slim is not the only prospective new shareholder in Slovak Telekom, however, with the ever present financial group Penta also expected to make a bid for the shares. To date the state has partners with the 51% shareholder Deutsche Telekom, but there have been disputes over the amount and payout of dividends, as the German company has managerial control.