The Greek government did not receive any bids for a minority stake in OTE put up for sale last month and has now invited Deutsche Telekom to exercise its right of first refusal.

Reuters reported the country’s privatisation agency said it received no bids for a 5 per cent stake in the operator after the government launched a tender to sell the shares as part of its international bailout. Investors had until 15 March to submit offers for the stake, which totals 24.5 million shares.

The agency asked Deutsche Telekom, which owns a 40 per cent stake in OTE, to buy the shares. The Germany-headquartered operator reportedly has 30 business days to make a decision regarding the stake, which will be valued based on the average share price of the last 20 trading sessions.

Currently the Greek stake holds a 10 per cent stake in OTE, which has a total market value of €5.6 billion.