Telefónica to sell assets in Czech Republic, Slovakia

The communication company Telefónica is thinking seriously about divesting its business in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Whether the deal happens depends on what offers CEO César Alierta receives.

This decision within the multinational's strategy to get rid of assets that do not yield good profits and reduce its debt to 47 billion euros by the end of the year. Profits in these two countries fell 5.2% in the first two quarters of this year.

Telefónica has purchased mobile technology companies E-Plus and KPN in hopes of becoming a market leader in Germany, and it also increased its share in the Italian company Telco. In order to square its accounts by the end of the year, it should dump these non-strategic assets.