Responding to the SSH supervisory board's Wednesday decision, Cinven has underscored that the amendment to its original 20 May binding bid for Telekom Slovenije makes an integral part of the offer without which it could not resume the finalisation of the transaction.

The SSH supervisory board on Wednesday endorsed Cinven's original bid but failed to discuss the amendment submitted by Cinven on Tuesday because the SSH management had ruled it out as unacceptable.

Cinven on Wednesday confirmed it had amended its binding bid due to delays in regulatory approval of Telekom's acquisition of Slovenian mobile service provider Debitel and the merging of Telekom's Macedonian subsidiary with that of Telekom Austria.

In a press release issued on Thursday morning, Cinven said it had been informed of delays last week.

Based on information received from SSH and since there is no mention of the amendment which is understood as an integral part of the offer, Cinven understands its offer has not been accepted.

The fund expressed the belief that the proposed amendment was beneficial for all the parties involved because it reduced the risk for a successful completion of the transaction, and that given the necessary regulatory approval of the deals in Slovenia and Macedonia, it was not changing economic terms of the bid.

SSH would not comment on Cinven's response, saying it had not yet received an official response from the fund. However, SSH chairman Matej Pirc told the STA the negotiations with Cinven "are ongoing".

Meanwhile, Telekom Slovenije hailed "signals that the sales procedure is nearing its completion", saying "this is good news for all the stakeholders".

The telecoms incumbent underscored it had been supporting the process throughout and was hopeful for its conclusion as soon as possible, regardless of the outcome.