The Slovakian government wants to list its 49 per cent shareholding in Slovak Telekom, the country’s incumbent, on the stock exchanges in Bratislava and London.

The offering will include a public offer to investors in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic and sales to institutional investors in other jurisdictions and is subject to receipt of relevant regulatory approvals, including from the National Bank of Slovakia, the company said in a statement.

According to CEO Miroslav Majoros: “Through significant capital investment, improved efficiency and enhanced capability we now have an integrated offering enabling us to deliver higher value services and premium content through triple and quad-play bundles. The IPO will mark an important next step in our development and bring greater visibility to the value we intend to create.”

The government’s 2015 budget plans have predicted returns of up to €1 billion from the sale.

Slovak Telekom has 2.4 million mobile connections and holds 32.6 per cent market share at the end of Q1 2015, according to GSMA Intelligence. It is 51 per cent owned by Deutsche Telekom, which plans to retain its stake.

Slovakia’s economy ministry recently said it wants to conclude an IPO by the end of June in preference to a sale to Deutsche Telekom.

The privatisation of the company has been on the cards for some time now.

In February last year it was reported that the government signed a memorandum to sell its 49 per cent stake to Deutsche Telekom and there were plans for an external adviser to be brought in to value the state’s minority share in the incumbent, after which Deutsche Telekom would decide if it wanted to buy.

If the German operator declined to buy, the Slovakian government would offer the shares through London’s stock exchange and the whole process should be finished by the end of the year, it was reported at the time.

The company said it experienced a “solid financial performance” with revenues of €768 million for the year ending 31 December 2014.