Final Word from Tuesday, May 11, 2004
The dispute between Eurotel and Český Telecom has been one of the CR's biggest events in recent weeks, but the public would hardly have noticed if it had been paying attention only to financial analysts and investment bankers. The very people with the best access to market information have been the tightest-lipped about the issue. For example, Lorne Somerville of UBS told Ekonom that more publicity has unfortunately been given to the dispute than it deserves. Tibor Bokor of Wood & Co. told the BBC that Terrence Valeski is past history and that who his successor will be is now the important issue. To their credit, a few analysts - such as those from Atlantik FT and the Liberal Institute - have indeed raised doubts about what's happening at Eurotel. But then they, unlike the others, weren't trying to win the mandate to advise on Telecom's privatization.