Slovenian carrier Telekom Slovenije has beaten Turkcell to the punch, snapping up Macedonian mobile operator Cosmofon for Eur190m.

The Slovenian firm acquired Cosmofon, the second biggest GSM operator in Macedonia with 30 per cent market, from Greek carrier OTE, which also owns the Cosmote brand in Greece.

Under the deal, Telekom Slovenije also acquired 100 per cent of dealer network Germanos, which serves as a retailer for Cosmofon’s products in Macedonia.

Earlier this month Turkish operator Turkcell made a binding offer for Cosmofon, but appears to have seen its offer beaten by Telekom Slovenije.

Cosmofon launched 3G-HSDPA services in August 2008, and has also acquired six regional WiMAX licenses, launching a nationwide WiMAX network.