Greece to sell 10% of OTE to Deutche Telekom

Greece has agreed to sell a 10% stake in OTE Telecom to Deutsche Telekom, exercising a put option, and has begun talks on selling a further 6% to the German firm, Greek newspapers said on Thursday.
The sale will fetch 410.7 mln euros ($589 mln) to help pay down public debt. Deutsche Telekom already owns 30% of Greece's largest telecoms company.
On Wednesday Deutsche Telekom's chief executive Rene Obermann said the company would buy the stake if the Greek government used its put option.
Obermann also said the company was entering talks with Athens about buying further OTE shares but it needed to "take a sober look at what conditions are possible or not".
Daily newspaper Imerisia said Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou met for an hour with Deutsche Telekom representatives on Wednesday and agreed on the sale.
"The transfer of a 10% stake in OTE to Deutsche Telekom for 410.7 mln euros will take place by the end of June. At the same time talks will start on an additional 6% stake the government intends to sell," Imerisia said.