Hellas Sat gets 20 year reprieve

 * OTE considers selling to raise 150 mln euros *

Satellite operator Hellas Sat has renewed its orbital slot for an additional 20 years to 2041 following an agreement with the government of Cyprus that could pave the way to the company’s long-expected sale.
The Athens-based consortium signed the agreement in Nicosia on July 2, securing a place for an eventual successor to the Hellas Sat 2 satellite that will be decommissioned in 2018.
OTE, the biggest telecoms operator in southeastern Europe, which owns 99.05% in the satellite operator, has long said it would be open to selling Hellas Sat to focus on its core business and raise some 150 mln euros to pay down its debt.
Among the potential buyers is satellite fleet operator SES of Luxembourg, which has indicated that adding Hellas Sat and its orbital slot to its stable of holdings would make sense — if the price is right, according to the journal Space News.
Ass of December 31, Hellas Sat was 96% booked and generated revenues of 32.8 mln euros last year, up 8.9% from the previous year. EBITDA was 71% of revenue and net profit at 11.3 mln euros, was up 17.4% over 2010.
Meanwhile, OTE also said it plans to sell its Bulgarian units to help refinance 3.4 bln euros debt maturing in the next two years.
"OTE is considering the possible sale of its units in Bulgaria Globul and Germanos Telecom Bulgaria and plans to start the necessary procedures," it said on Saturday.
In Bulgaria, OTE controls Globul, the country's second-biggest mobile operator with a market share of 36% and a customer base of 4.3 mln people, and electronic appliance retailer Germanos.
Industry analysts have said Turkish mobile operator Turkcell might be interesting in acquiring Globul. Turkcell had been interest in buying debt-ridden Bulgarian telecoms operator Vivacom earlier this year, until its owners cancelled the sale.
OTE, 40%-owned by Deutsche Telecom, reported a big one-off gain in the first quarter after selling its 20% stake in Serbian group Telecom Srbija.
The former Greek monopoly has been bleeding clients as austerity-hurt customers in Greece and Romania, its two biggest markets, switch to cheaper rivals.