(Repeats story from Wednesday)
* Deutsche Telekom holds 51 pct, has buy option
* Govt sees 49 pct stake worth around 1 bln euros
(Adds Deutsche Telekom comment, details)
BRATISLAVA, March 23 (Reuters) - Slovakia will sell its
minority stake in Slovak Telekom, estimated to be worth around 1
billion euros ($1.42 billion), in an international tender or an
initial public offering, Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said.
The euro zone country plans to restart a privatisation
drive, halted by the previous centre-left government, to boost
competitiveness and raise funds to cut the country's debt.
Slovak Telekom is the country's largest fixed and mobile
operator via its T-Com and T-Mobile brands. Deutsche Telekom
<DTEGn.DE> owns a controlling 51 percent stake and has an option
to buy the rest.
"We do not rule that out, but it would have to make sense
financially," Anna Bischof, spokeswoman for Deutsche Telekom
said on Wednesday.
"We will wait for further decisions from Slovakia," she
added.
A potential IPO, requiring Deutsche Telekom's approval,
could take place on the Prague, Warsaw and Bratislava stock
exchanges, Miklos told a news conference.
"It would help the capital market's development if shares
would be issued on the Bratislava exchange. It would, clearly,
needed to be done on two others, more significant Prague and
Warsaw exchanges," Miklos told reporters.
The privatisation of the country's telecommunication
services provider could be completed within 18 months, he added.
A government analysis showed that an independent valuation
of the stake would be necessary, putting its own preliminary
estimate of the stake's value at around 940 million euros.
Iveta Radicova's government, in power since last July, also
approved the full privatisation of the country's six major
heating companies on Wednesday.
Economy Minister Juraj Miskov told Reuters in an interview
last month that France's Veolia <VIE.PA>, Dalkia <VIE.PA>
<EDF.PA>, Cofely <GSZ.PA>, Germany's E.ON <EONGn.DE> and Italian
companies were among interest buyers. [].
(Reporting by Martin Santa, Additional reporting by Petra
Kovacova in Bratislava and Peter Maushagen in Frankfurt; Editing
by Louise Heavens and Erica Billingham)
($1=.7054 Euro)
