Following its agreement with Marfin Investment Group, Deutsche Telekom now owns a 20 per cent stake in Greek national telecoms operator OTE. DT coughed up US$3.9 billion for the stake but the deal is conditional on the Greek government allowing the German operator to have management control of OTE. Deutsche Telekom also wants assurances that it can increase its stake beyond 20 per cent. The initial response from the Greek government seems to be positive towards meeting these demands. The deal should be a good fit for Deutsche Telekom which already has a significant presence in Southeastern Europe having invested in operations in Croatia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Macedonia and Hungary. Cosmote, OTE's mobile arm, has ties with mobile operators in Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania.
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