BUCHAREST, Romania—The Bulgarian mobile operator, Mobiltel, announced that Dutch company LL Telecommunication Holding, registered in Rotterdam, still holds 100 percent of its shares, following its purchase of the operator from the Eastern Market Telecommunications Fund earlier this year. Earlier reports stated that Israeli businessman Lev Leviev, the head of LL Telecommunication, planned to sell Mobiltel.
The LL Telecommunication Holding acquisition was finalized after preliminarily permission by the State Committee of Telecommunication in March 2001 and in due form registered in the City Court of Sofia.
Representatives of LL Telecommunication are on the governing bodies of Mobiltel and take part in management of the company. Leviev’s decision not to sell the operator is reported to be based on the unexpected decision of the Bulgarian government several days ago regarding a new license tax to be collected by SKT, the Bulgarian telecommunications authority. The decision was made in the absence of the Bulgarian prime minister and all branch ministers related to the communications and finances of the state.
