TIW and ClearWave to Increase Their Stake in Cesky Mobil.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers MONTREAL & AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2003 Telesystem International Wireless Inc. ("TIW Tiw (tē`  ), Norse Tyr (tür), ancient Germanic god. ") and ClearWave N.V ("ClearWave") announce that they have received notice from Cesk Konsolidacni Agentura ("CKA CKA Commonly Known AsCKA California Kindergarten Association CKA Colorado Karate Association CKA Atlantic Croaker (FAO fish species code) CKA Customer Knowledge Asset "), a Czech state-owned agency, announcing its intent to sell its 3.62% stake in Cesky Mobil a.s. ("Cesky Mobil"). The transaction would be effected through TIW Czech N.V. ("TIW Czech"), a controlled subsidiary of ClearWave and TIW. CKA will sell its equity position in Cesky Mobil by exercising an option granted in 1999 as part of the creation of Cesky Mobil. The option allows CKA to sell the entirety of its stake at a price of approximately 469 million Czech Koruna (approximately US$17.0 million), representing the amount paid originally for the 3.62% equity stake, plus interest on such amount compounded at 7% per annum Per annum Yearly. from the date of issuance of the shares up to the closing date of the transaction which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2004. As of October 6, 2003, the amount of accrued interest Accrued Interest The interest that has accumulated on a bond since the last interest payment up to but not including the settlement date. There are two methods for calculating accrued interest: 1) 360-day year method, used for corporate and municipal bonds. represents approximately 131 million Czech Koruna (approximately US$ 4.8 million). TIW Czech will finance the acquisition via shareholders' contribution. ClearWave owns a 24.2% equity interest in TIW Czech and its share of the purchase price to date would be approximately US$ 5.3 million. Pro forma for the transaction, TIW Czech equity interest in Cesky Mobil would increase to 99.87% from 96.25%. About Cesky Mobil Cesky Mobil a.s. operating in the Czech Republic under the brand name Oskar continues to be one of the fastest growing start-up cellular operator in Central and Eastern Europe The term "Central and Eastern Europe" came into wide spread use, replacing "Eastern bloc", to describe former Communist countries in Europe, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989/90. . Oskar was awarded the third GSM license in the Czech Republic in October 1999. It achieved the fastest ever GSM launch by having its network on the air within three months of license award. Oskar achieved network coverage parity with the two incumbent operators at the end of 2000. As of June 30, 2003 Oskar had 1,337,492 subscribers. About ClearWave N.V. and TIW TIW, through its subsidiary ClearWave N.V., is a leading cellular operator in Central and Eastern Europe with over 4.2 million managed subscribers. ClearWave is the market leader in Romania through MobiFon S.A. and is active in the Czech Republic through Cesky Mobil a.s. TIW's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) Canada's largest stock exchange, trading approximately 1,200 company stocks and 33 options. ("TIW") and NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on ("TIWI TIWI Telesystem International Wireless Incorporated (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) "). Our web site addresses are: www.tiw.ca www.clearwave.cz www.oskarmobil.cz |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion