Carlos Garcia Moreno, CFO of America Movil, the majority shareholder in Telekom Austria, said there is a possibility for a further capital increase to fund European acquisitions and thinks the European telecommunication market will see several years of consolidation.

“If there are opportunities for Telekom (Austria) to grow through acquisitions, the situation will be judged accordingly and the topic (of a) capital increase will also be considered,” he told News.At.

America Movil has said before that it wants to use Telekom Austria to facilitate expansion into central and eastern Europe, where the latter has operations in countries such as Bulgaria and Croatia.

Telekom Austria finalised a share sale in November last year through which it raised €997 million. America Movil used all its subscription rights to buy around 60 per cent of the shares, helping Telekom Austria reach 99.7 per cent of its €1 billion target.

The net proceeds were said to be earmarked to pursue M&A opportunities, among other things, although later Telekom Austria CEO Hannes Ametsreiter played down the chances of deal-making.

According to Moreno, the company may also want to bring together Telekom Austria businesses in different countries under a single brand.