Eesti Telekom shares on sale

TALLINN (BNS) - The market value of Eesti Telekom may increase to 15 billion kroons ($1.1 billion) after the upcoming initial public offering is completed.

The Ministry of Transport and Communication announced that general public, local and foreign institutions will be able to subscribe to the Eesti Telekom shares from Jan. 25 until Feb. 9. The government will sell about 26 percent of its shares in the telephone company.

The sale price of the shares will depend on the level of demand. It will be determined within the range of maximum and minimum bidding prices set before the subscription period.

Some analysts estimate that the price of an Eesti Telekom share might be 110 kroons after the public offering, but they say it will be considerably lower during the sale of shares.

Usually the share price of telecommunication companies rises after the public offering.

The share price of Finland's Sonera, a strategic owner of Eesti Telekom subsidiaries Eesti Telefon and Eesti Mobiiltelefon, rose by nearly 100 percent during the few months after privatization. Experts expect similar developments in Eesti Telekom after the privatization.