As we reported earlier, Deutsche Telekom was looking to buy out Elektrim's 48 percent stake in Polish mobile carrier PTC, and now DT has made its first payment--$765 million--toward the acquisition. The maneuver is just the latest in a month-long imbroglio over ownership of PTC between DT and Vivendi. DT holds that it now owns 97 percent of PTC following its announced acquisition of Elektrim's 48 percent stake in the carrier, while Vivendi argues that the sale runs counter to previous court rulings. Vivendi ponied up €2.2 billion to form a partnership with Elektrim in 1999 to jointly own PTC, but Vivendi has not been allowed on the carrier's Warsaw premises since 2005.
For more on DT's initial payment for the PTC stake:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)