Through América Móvil, Slim made his first forays into the European market this summer with an acquisition of a quarter of Dutch operator KPN and Telekom Austria for a combined fee of €4 billion.
Slim is thought to have made the investments in the European operators as part of a strategy to secure stakes in the market at depressed prices, considering the continent’s economic situation.
In just months, however, the value of a 23% stake in Telekom Austria has fallen significantly, according to estimates reported by the Financial Times.
The initial investment of approximately €4 billion has fallen by 46-47%, accounting for approximately €1.8 billion in total.
Shares in KPN dropped by 15% on Friday after it paid approximately €1.4 billion in the government’s 4G spectrum auction.
Slim has recently been criticised for making opportunistic acquisitions outside of his domestic market, which includes investments in Global Crossing and CompUSA.
