VIENNA (AFP) – Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim on Friday moved to grow his telecoms empire into central and eastern Europe by raising his stake in Telekom Austria to 9.9 per cent with the aim of obtaining 25.9 per cent.

“This acquisition positions AMX as a long-term strategic partner of Telekom Austria,” Slim’s America Movil (AMX) company said in a statement.

The deal is “part of AMX geographic diversification strategy and provides an attractive presence in Central and Eastern Europe”.

Former monopoly Telekom Austria, the largest telecoms company in the country, is also active in Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, with 20 million mobile customers and 2.6 million fixed lines.

Slim is also a shareholder in the Dutch telecoms group KPN and wants to increase that interest to 27.7 per cent.

The Austrian state is still the main shareholder in Telekom Austria with a stake of 28.42 per cent, more than the minority blocking threshold of 25 per cent plus one share.

Austria owns its shares via the state holding company OEIAG, which welcomed the increased investment by Slim, saying his company was an excellent strategic and financial investor.

AMX on Friday bought five per cent in Telekom Austria from businessman Ronny Pecik, taking its stake to 6.75 per cent, and said it intends to acquire a further 16 per cent. Financial details were not disclosed.

Telekom Austria revealed late Friday meanwhile that another firm controlled by Slim’s family also controls a stake of 3.1 per cent. Added to the 21 per cent, this will give Slim a blocking minority of 25.9 per cent in the Austrian company.

Telekom Austria is capitalised at about 3.6 billion euros (US$4.55 billion).

Pecik, who said on Friday that he would withdraw entirely as a shareholder in Telekom Austria once the deal was completed, is to remain as vice president of the telecom operator’s supervisory board, AMX said.

America Movil dominates the market for mobile telephone services in Latin America, saying that it had 225 million customers in 18 countries at the end of 2010.

Slim, 72, has a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at US$69 billion (54.5 billion euros).

Originally from a family of Lebanese traders, he heads the Forbes list of the richest men in the world, far ahead of the founder of Microsoft computer software, Bill Gates, who is second with a fortune put at about US$61 billion.

Slim made his fortune through the privatisation of the Mexican company Telmex (Telefonos de Mexico) which he owns and used as a base for developing America Movil.

Shares in Telekom Austria gained 1.42 per cent on Friday to close at 8.15 euros, handing back earlier gains. The benchmark ATX index closed 2.02 per cent higher.

Meanwhile, Slim has acquired an 8.4 per cent stake in YPF, the recently nationalized Argentine subsidiary of Spanish oil firm Repsol, filings show.

Ratings agency Moody’s had downgraded YPF another notch on Tuesday, a month after Buenos Aires seized control of Argentina’s largest oil firm that accounts for a third of the country’s domestic production.

A US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday showed that Slim’s investment company, Domitgrupo Financiero Inbursa, had acquired almost 33 million shares in YPF, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

YPF CEO Miguel Galuccio hailed the purchase, saying it would send a “clear signal to international markets” and was a “show of confidence in Argentina and the new plans for the company.”

However, Slim’s spokesman Renato Flores told AFP that his company had not purchased the shares directly but acquired them after they were posted as collateral on a loan that went into default.

On Tuesday Moody’s downgraded its rating for YPF to Caa1 from B3, citing concerns over the company’s debt but saying its outlook was stable.

Argentina declared YPF a public utility on April 16, with the government seizing a 51 percent stake in the Repsol subsidiary — infuriating Madrid and sparking concern in the United States and the European Union.

Later the same week, it extended the move to YPF Gas, a separate company 85 percent owned by a division of Repsol.

President Cristina Kirchner has argued that the expropriation was justified because YPF crude production had dropped while oil and gas imports doubled in 2011. Imports are forecast to triple by the end of the year.