UK private-equity firm Cinven is to invest “significantly” in a network upgrade at Slovenia’s incumbent operator, including an ambitious expansion of 4G coverage, if its bid is successful.

Cinven confirmed it made a binding offer for the government’s stake in Telekom Slovenije but did not reveal the size of its bid.

It had been thought that Deutsche Telekom would also throw its hat in the ring but no bid materialised from the German incumbent.

But Cinven has high ambitions for Telekom Slovenije, vowing to reverse its revenue decline, followed by a strategy for sustainable, long-term growth.

To achieve this goal Cinven proposes investment in the incumbent’s infrastructure, so it can offer high-speed broadband across its fixed network as well as 4G covering 90 per cent of the population.

The private equity firm said it would also invest in the operator’s sales channels and customer service

In addition, the new backers would improve Telekom Slovenije’s underlying processes, in a bid to boost products and services for consumers, businesses and the public sector.

Finally, it hopes to position the operator as a “Slovenian champion”, an independent local company with a reputation for top-quality services.