Private equity firms have been left guessing after the sale of Telekom Slovenije, which has received interest from firms including Apax Partners and Cinven, ground to a standstill on Thursday following the Slovenian government’s announcement that it is halting all ongoing sales of state-owned businesses.

The outgoing centre-left government said that the privatisations of companies, including Slovenia's leading telecommunications operator, would be put on hold until a new cabinet is formed after the parliamentary election on July 13.