TALLINN - The Estonian government has in principle decided to sell its minority stake in the telecommunications holding company Eesti Telekom, the finance ministry announced, reports news agency LETA. Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi will make a proposal to agree to TeliaSonera's offer, at 93 kroons (5.96 euros) per share.
Conditions would include that additional dividends, of nearly 7 kroons per share, would be paid, and over the next three years, 100 percent of net profits of the preceding period will be paid to shareholders as dividends.
"The state has no strategic interest to be a shareholder, it's problematic from the point of view of conflict of interest of the state as supervisor, and from the point of view of competition," says Ligi.
Together with the Eesti Telekom shares from the Development Fund, the state would get just over 4 billion kroons from the sale, extraordinary dividends and income tax on dividends. "The state can then take less loans and use less reserves," said Ligi. Payment of the extra dividend would improve the government's budget balance by 518 million kroons.
