By Leos Rousek
PRAGUE--O2 Czech Republic AS (BAATELEC.PR) will begin selling
iPhone smartphones at its stores, ending a nearly three-year ban on
stocking devices of Apple Inc. (AAPL), the country's number one
cellular operator by clients said Wednesday.
"O2 has become a partner of Apple for distribution of iPhones
and therefore new models will be available for our customers the
same day they're officially imported to the Czech Republic," the
cellular operator said.
O2 and its predecessor Telefonica Czech Republic AS have been at
loggerheads with Apple since late 2011 over the terms, centered on
mandatory sales volumes and promotional offers, for iPhone sales at
the O2-branded shops and its online store. The company instead has
focused on offering smartphones based on rival operating systems,
such as Google Inc.'s (GOOGL) Android or Microsoft Corp's (MSFT)
Windows Phone.
O2 says iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models will on offer as of
Friday.
Apple doesn't comment on contracts with cellular operators in
individual markets. O2 officials declined to comment on details of
their contract with Apple.
In January PPF Group NV, the Czech financial group owned by
billionaire Petr Kellner, bought the 65.9% stake in the Czech unit
of Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF) for 2.06 billion euros ($2.81
billion) outright for the majority stake and an additional EUR303
million over the following four years.
Since then PPF approved the renaming of its largest
telecommunications asset to O2 Czech Republic, based on an
agreement with Telefonica for the use of its brand the Spanish
company uses on other markets in Europe.
Last month PPF Group NV approved a 295.15 koruna ($14.68) offer
for each outstanding share of O2 Czech Republic.
The offer, currently under consideration by the O2's minority
shareholders, is below the purchase price of CZK305.63 per share
PPF Group paid for the majority stake in O2.
Write to Leos Rousek at leos.rousek@wsj.com
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