ATHENS -(Dow Jones)- Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (NYSE:OTE) (OTE) shareholders on Thursday appointed two senior Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE:DT) (DT) executives to its 11-member board of directors, foreshadowing the role the German telecom will play in the future management of OTE.
The annual shareholders meeting approved the appointment of Karl-Gerhard Eick, deputy chairman of Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) , as director for a three-year term, filling an existing vacancy on the board.
Also elected was Hamid Akhavan, Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) board member with responsibility for the company's T-mobile operations.
Shareholders also approved the appointment of Leonidas Evangelides, a senior Greek diplomat and formerly Greece's ambassador to Germany, whose candidacy was supported by both Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) and the Greek government.
In mid-May, Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) reached a EUR3.2 billion three-way deal with the Greek government and Greek private equity company Marfin Investment Group Holdings SA (Athens:MIG) (MIG.AT) to share ownership and management control of OTE.
Under the terms of the deal, Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) and the Greek government will each control a 25% plus-one-share stake in OTE, Greece's one-time state-owned monopoly phone company, and each will appoint five members to a future 10-member board of directors.
Earlier this month, the Greek parliament approved the agreement by a narrow majority, which still must gain regulatory approval in Greece and Germany before taking effect. That approval is expected in the third quarter.
Company Web sites: www.ote.gr; www.telecom.com
-By Alkman Granitsas, Dow Jones Newswires; +30 210 331 2881; alkman.granitsas@ dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 06-26-08 1430 Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
