Germany's Deutsche Telekom has just acquired a 10% position in Greece's Hellenic Telecom (OTE) in a deal valued at $585.7 million, according to Reuters. The Greek government will be left with 10% stake in the firm, but Deutsche Telekom will own 40%.

The German government owns over 30% of Deutsche Telekom according to 2008 data, so forcing Greece to sell its position in its own national firm seems a little hypocritical.

It may not seem like much, but it's just the beginning in a process of asset sales by the Greek state. The next potential sales include Public Power Corp., which Greece owns 51% of, gambling firm OPAP SA, and natural gas firm DEPA SA.

Whether or not it's German firms acting as the buyer in this market is unknown. But Germany is also working to have Greece sacrifice its fiscal sovereignty in return for more bailout aid, something Greek protesters are not pleased about.