PPF to delist O2 shares from Prague Stock Exchange at end-Feb

Prague, Jan 28 (CTK) - The PPF group wants to delist telecom company O2 from the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) at the end of February, with consideration paid by the end of April, PPF said on its website today.

The O2 general meeting has recently decided that PPF Telco, owning over 90 percent of O2, would buy out the remaining stakes from minority shareholders.

O2's shares are currently traded at Kc269 apiece on the BCPP.

PPF had set the buyout price at Kc270 per share. The buyout will be conducted by PPF's banking arm PPF banka.

Ownership rights will be transferred to PPF on February 28.

O2 shares have been listed on the Prague bourse since 1995, originally under the name SPT Telecom. The operator gradually changed its name to Cesky Telecom and then to O2 Czech Republic. In 2015, infrastructure owner CETIN split off O2. CETIN issued its own shares that were obtained by O2 shareholders. PPF as the majority shareholder later bought out the CETIN shares at Kc172 per share.

After acquiring all 100 percent of O2, the PPF group plans to integrate O2 into its telecommunication division PPF Telecom Group.

PPF Telecom Group comprises mobile operators active under the Telenor brand (to be Yettel as of March 1) in Hungary, Bulgaria and Serbia and infrastructure company CETIN Group, which operates in all the above-mentioned countries as well as in Czechia.

O2 has 5.97 million mobile clients and 855,000 Internet users. In 2020, it raised its consolidated net profit by 7.1 percent to Kc5.85bn and revenues by 2.6 percent to Kc39.8bn.

PPF invests in a number of sectors, including financial services, telecommunications, media, real estate, biotechnology and engineering. It is active in 25 countries, owns assets worth EUR40.3bn and employs 80,000 people worldwide.

bst/er