CAIRO - Austrian investor Ronny Pecik confirmed in a newspaper interview that Egypt's Naguib Sawiris was involved in his move to build a stake in Telekom Austria. Sawiris "is a financial investor in my company Marathon Zwei Beteiligungs GmbH," Austrian newspaper Die Presse quoted Pecik as saying in its online edition, although he denied that he was acting on behalf of the Egyptian investor. The statement comes less than a month after media reports said Sawiris-owned Orascom Telecom was planning a hostile takeover of Telekom Austria using Pecik as a cover. Shortly after, the Austrian telecommunications company said Pecik had secured options via several companies to buy about 5.5 percent of the Austrian telecommunications company, fanning speculation of a looming takeover bid. The bulk of those options are held by Pecik's Marathon. "I definitely rule out that I am a front man for anyone," the newspaper cited Pecik as saying. "I have never been a front man. I always bought companies at my own risk, and I have had a lot of sleepless nights because of that." Austrian magazine Format also reported last week, without citing sources, that an investor group led by Pecik planned to sell a stake in Telekom Austria to Russia's Vimpelcom and its ally Turkcell . It said Pecik and a group including Sawiris, who is a Vimpelcom shareholder, had secured control of around 20 percent of Austria's flagship telecoms group, part of which was parked with two banks in Switzerland. A source told Reuters that Vimpelcom was not interested.
