Telenor wins auction of Mobi 63 for 1.513 billion euros

Telenor wins auction of Mobi 63 for 1.513 billion euros

Norway based telecommunications company Telenor has managed to win the auction for the Serbia’s biggest mobile operator Mobi 63.

They had made a bid for around 1.513 billion euros and managed to thwart competing bids from Mobilkom Austria and Orascom Telecom of Egypt.

The bidding process was telecasted live on state-run RTS television, for a 70-percent stake in Mobi 63.

The bid also means that Telenor has now won a 10-year operating license to run Mobi 63, which has around 2 million subscribers in the nation.

The Serbian government had already removed companies including France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom from the bidding process.

Mobi 63 was originally setup by Bogoljub Karic in 1994. However, his license was revoked in the month of December after it was found that Karic had conducted illegal deals in the UN-run Serbian province of Kosovo.