Wireless Federation

Amobee Media Systems announced it will be providing ad server capabilities and dynamic ad selection for Vodafone Italia’s live! portal.

Amobee, a world leader in advertising solutions for mobile, focuses on ad-enabling the first and the most frequently viewed screens on the mobile handset, like those used for messaging and on the carrier portal.

As Vodafone Italia’s partner for mobile advertising solutions, Amobee’s telco-grade ad server has been integrated with the operator’s network enabling its customers to watch and interact with relevant and contextual advertising while browsing Vodafone live!.

Several major brands are already using the service including Mercedes, BMW, Nokia, Heineken, Lavazza, Nike, Agos, Axe, Agip, Eni, and RCS.

The partnership follows a successful collaboration to deliver Freevideo, a recent ad-funded mobile video service with Vodafone Italia.

Amobee also works with Vodafone in Spain, Greece and the Czech Republic, delivering advertising on Vodafone live! as well as services such as ad-funded peer-to-peer SMS and games.

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According to a report in the Greek newspaper Ta Nea, Cosmote’s Macedonian mobile unit Cosmofon will close down as a result of Deutsche Telekom (DT’s) acquisition of a 25% stake in Greek national fixed line operator and parent of Cosmote, Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE). The paper says that after careful consideration of the contract signed by DT and the government of Greece on a strategic partnership, Athens has accepted the terms and conditions under which it would stop operating mobile services in Macedonia and will no longer use its licence for offering cellular services in Montenegro. OTE has apparently taken the decision to avoid the creation of a monopoly situation in Macedonia where DT already owns Makedonski Telekom and T-Mobile Macedonia. The new German owner is keen to continue with the T-Mobile brand in the country and shutting down Cosmofon will avoid harming its long term interests, the paper said.

Ta Nea claims that Cosmofon’s head office in Skopje was ‘reserved in its statements’ on the developments yesterday, saying only that the deal brokered by the Greeks and the Germans had not yet been ratified, and they would continue as normal for the time being. Industry watchers also point out that any decision to close down the successful cellco, which generates turnover of tens of millions of euros per annum, would not make economic sense, and that selling the venture to another company would be a more logical thing to do. Earlier this month, Cosmofon was reportedly preparing to lay off between 40 and 50 people as part of wider preparations for the sale or restructuring of the business pending the completion of DT’s acquisition of OTE of Greece. Reports in the Dnevnik newspaper said the firm had not confirmed the job losses, but rumours emerged that the redundancies would be announced in the next few weeks.

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OTE, Greece’s largest telecom group, which is partly owned by Deutsche Telekom, may sue Siemens for damages for allegedly overcharging, a Reuters report said.

The report quoted German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung saying that OTE has contacted lawyers in Germany and Greece to examine and prepare all necessary steps, which include a claim for damages.

Siemens was not immediately available for comment.

Earlier this week, former Siemens manager Reinhardt Siekaczek told a court that he had been asked by superiors to construct a slush-fund network to disguise payments to foreign telecoms companies after such bribes became illegal in Germany in 1998, the report said.

Such payments may have helped Siemens’ telecoms equipment division, of which OTE was a major customer, win contracts against rivals such as Cisco , Nokia and Ericsson, the Reuters report suggested This is bad news for Siemens which is already embroiled in court cases over alleged bribery and fraud.

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The Greek government and representatives of Deutsche Telekom have struck a deal on sharing ownership and management control of Greece’s largest telecom company, OTE, an Associated Press report said.

The report quoted Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis saying that under the deal, the Greek government and Deutsche Telekom would each control 25% plus one share of OTE, while the German operator could also raise its holdings of the Greek company in the future.

Deutsche Telekom would pay €29.75 (US$45.93) a share for a 3% stake in OTE, which will allow the German company to extend its footprint in Central and Eastern Europe and win access to long-coveted markets such as Romania and Bulgaria.

“The Greek government will receive €442.3 million (US$682.9 million),” Alogoskoufis said.

Deutsche Telekom announced in March the acquisition of a 20% stake in OTE, Greece’s former monopoly telecoms operator, for about €2.5 billion (US$3.87 billion), from Marfin Investment Group Holdings.

Since then, Deutsche Telekom has been in talks with the Greek government to discuss raising its stake in OTE further, as well as the delicate issue of management control at the company and the final acquisition price.

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Talks between Germany’s Deutsche Telekom over the future ownership and management of Greece’s biggest phone company, OTE, have made progress, an Associated Press report said.

“The discussions to conclude a shareholders’ agreement between the Greek state and Deutsche Telekom regarding the future of OTE have shown significant progress and will continue next week,” the Greek Finance Ministry said in a statement

The deal faces strong opposition from Greek trade unions and opposition political parties, which argue Greece’s conservative government should not allow foreign control of OTE, the report added.

Last month, Deutsche Telekom announced plans to acquire a 20% stake in OTE, Greece’s former incumbent, for about €2.5 billion (US$3.9 billion), from Marfin Investment Group Holdings.

That deal, however, is contingent on a follow-on agreement with the Greek government.

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Greece’s leading cellco by subscribers Cosmote has upgraded its 3.5G mobile network with HSUPA technology to give users in selected areas of Athens and Thessaloniki maximum theoretical upload speeds of 1.5Mbps. Simultaneously it has increased the peak HSDPA download speeds accessible in the same areas to 7.2Mbps. HSDPA services are available to at least 40% of the population, whilst the operator claims total 3G/3.5G W-CDMA/HSPA population coverage of over 80%. Also this week, Cosmote is introducing new mobile broadband internet/data packages, including a plan specially for students allowing 5GB of up/downloads for EUR25 per month and an unlimited volume option for EUR49 a month (EUR29.50 under a promotion running until the end of September 2008).

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Deutsche Telekom has agreed to take a 20% stake in Greece’s incumbent phone company in a €2.5 billion/US$3.9 billion deal and hopes to increase the stake even more, an Associated Press report said.

The Bonn-based company said it would buy the shares in Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation, or OTE, from Greek private equity firm Marfin Investment Group for €26 (US$40.46) apiece.

MIG currently holds just shy of 20% of Hellenic Telecom, making it the company’s second largest shareholder, with slightly more than 98 million shares. Greece’s government is the biggest shareholder, with just more than 28% of the company.

The report also quoted Ovum analyst Mike Cansfield saying that on the surface the deal would seem odd (see AnalystWire for full comment from Cansfield) “Why would DT look to take over the Greek incumbent? The answer is not to look to Greece, but OTE’s mobile investments in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, and Albania,” he said of Cosmote, Hellenic’s mobile phone unit. Hellenic also holds a controlling share of Romtelecom, the former Romanian telephone monopoly, the Associated Press report said.

The deal is subject to approval by Deutsche Telekom’s supervisory board and the Greek government.

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German incumbent looking for management control but not full buyout of Greek operator; eastern European ops key to deal.
Deutsche Telekom Monday announced it will acquire a stake of close to 20% in Greek incumbent OTE for around €2.5 billion and aims to gain management control of the telco.  

The German operator said it has entered an agreement to acquire the OTE shares held by private equity firm Marfin Investment Group (MIG).

“The execution of this agreement is conditional upon Deutsche Telekom’s Supervisory Board,” said Deutsche Telekom, in a statement.

MIG has been steadily raising its stake in OTE for several months, and now owns 98.3 million shares, making it the largest shareholder behind the Greek government, which controls 28.03%.

Furthermore, Deutsche Telekom said it also plans to propose a shareholder deal with the Greek government to further increase its OTE stake, although it does not plan to acquire all the operator’s shares.

“Deutsche Telekom expects to initiate discussions with the Greek government with the aim to reach an agreement in the very near future,” said Deutsche Telekom.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis last week announced that Greece is considering altering legislation which caps private investment in strategically sensitive sectors, but insisted it would not remove the restrictions altogether.

The announcement came as local press reports revealed that OTE had begun negotiating with major European telecos including Deutsche Telekom.

“Withdrawing the legislation is out of the question, but we’ll see whether it needs to be improved,” said Karamanlis at a news conference in Brussels.

Analyst firm Ovum believes that Deutsche Telekom’s interest in OTE lies in its mobile operations in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, and Albania.

“DT is buying the top-line growth that these countries can bring to T-Mobile over the next few years, plus the added opportunity to leverage scale economies across its European mobile footprint,” said Mike Cansfield, telecoms strategy practice leader, Ovum, in a research note.

Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann has repeatedly called for consolidation in the European mobile sector as a means to counter ongoing price deflation.

Cansfield added that ongoing global financial uncertainty could be putting off private equity firms from making big acquisitions.

“MIG pulling out of OTE could well be an indicator that private equity is starting to pull back from the telecoms sector,” he said. Therefore, Europe’s bigger telcos are now likely to be the major drivers of industry consolidation, he said.

“The DT/OTE link seems to indicate the larger incumbents with free cash flows now look to be the most likely agents of change. Two years ago few would have thought this likely,” said Cansfield.

“Today’s market is becoming more complex, and the bigger the enterprise the more likely it is to control its destiny. Expect more consolidation, not less,” he added.

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The Greek government has set a cap of 20 percent for shareholdings in strategically sensitive companies, a move seen as restraining Marfin Investment Group’s growing stake in national fixed-line operator OTE. Investors will now need government approval to raise a shareholding in a strategic company over 20 percent, writes Kathimerini. “This approval will be given if certain criteria are met for the protection of the public interest,” said finance minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis without providing further details. Ministry sources said the measure to limit shareholdings has the support of the European Union.

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Orascom Telecom has appointed investment bankers to consider strategic options including a possible auction of the company, reports UK paper The Times. A deal could value the company at up to USD 17 billion. According to the paper’s sources, informal discussions over the future of Orascom have already been held with Deutsche Telekom. However, the discussions were at a very early stage and may not result in a deal. Other possible buyers include Vodafone, Telefonica and France Telecom. Orascom, which is based in Egypt, operates in nine countries in the Middle East and Africa. Separately, its CEO Naguib Sawiris told the Financial Times that Orascom is not up for sale. However, he confirmed that he is still talking to private equity groups to take a minority stake in his holding Weather Investments, which controls Italian and Greek operator Wind.

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