By T. Igoumenidi
[email protected]
A joint binding bid submitted by two out of the three major mobile phone operators - and now telecoms providers - in Greece for the troubled Forthnet group was selected by creditors banks for the commencement of exclusive negotiations for the purchase of the latter.
The negotiations are expected to continue until late January 2019.
The joint bid by Vodafone and Wind was picked over a rival offer by the Antenna media group, which owns and runs a television station with a nationwide broadcast license.
Creditor banks' consultant in the process is Nomura.
According to analysts, however, any positive conclusion may necessitate more time for negotiations, whereas the prospects for the transaction are mixed.
According to reports, neither of the two offers were judged as satisfactory by the creditor banks, Piraeus, Alpha and National Bank of Greece, with no third offer in sight.
Based on first-half results this year, Forthnet - a telecoms provider and the owner of the subscriber TV platform Nova - faces a liquidity crunch and total obligations to lenders nearing 300 million euros.
