OTE, Vodafone Say Greek Phone Merger Needed to Prevent Failure

Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone Group Plc, having lost a combined $6.4 billion from their investments in Greece, are now pushing regulators to let mobile- phone companies merge to stay profitable as the country heads for a fifth year of recession.

More than two months since Vodafone started talks about a potential combination of its Greek unit with Wind Hellas Telecommunications SA, the companies have yet to reach an accord that can be put to regulators for approval. A merger of the wireless operators, Greece’s second- and third-largest, would create a duopoly with market leader Hellas Telecommunications SA, or OTE, which is 40 percent owned by Deutsche Telekom. “If they don’t approve it, you’ll soon have another bankrupt company in the market,” said OTE Chief Executive Officer Michael Tsamaz.

(11/21)