Abu Dhabi-based telecom company e& is now majority shareholder in mobile operator Yettel Bulgaria and network infrastructure company CETIN Bulgaria. The former sole owner, Czech Republic-founded international investment group PPF, announced that it had completed the sale of 50% plus one share of its telecom business in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia.
The deal, valued at 2.15 billion euro plus an additional potential payment of up to 350 million euro, was negotiated in the summer of 2023 and required subsequent approval from antitrust regulators in the countries concerned, as well as from the European Commission. It is also the first acquisition of assets under the European Union's new Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which aims to strengthen control over foreign investment flows into the EU, particularly those involving state-subsidized businesses.
bTV remains part of PFF
The change in ownership in the Bulgarian companies is not yet reflected in the Commercial Register. The agreed price means that the Bulgarian portion of the business is valued at over 1.5 billion euro, making it the largest acquisition in the country this year. In addition to the two local companies, ownership changes have also taken place for the Yettel-branded operators in Serbia and Hungary, the Slovak telecommunications business operating under the O2 brand, and the infrastructure companies branded CETIN in the three countries.
The deal does not include Bulgarian media group bTV, which remains fully owned by PPF. The Czech telecom assets of PPF, including operator O2 CZ and CETIN Czech, are also outside the scope of the transaction.
A new player
The agreement effectively creates a new entity, e& PPF Telecom, where the current CEO, Balesh Sharma, and the management team of PPF Telecom will retain their roles, according to PPF. The new partnership aims "to establish a key player in the telecommunications sector in Central and Eastern Europe," the Czech group added.
Established in 1976 as a telephone operator, the Etisalat group, rebranded to e& some time ago, operates in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, serving over 160 million subscribers. It is the second-largest telecom in the region after Saudi Telecom.
Abu Dhabi-based telecom company e& is now majority shareholder in mobile operator Yettel Bulgaria and network infrastructure company CETIN Bulgaria. The former sole owner, Czech Republic-founded international investment group PPF, announced that it had completed the sale of 50% plus one share of its telecom business in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia.
The deal, valued at 2.15 billion euro plus an additional potential payment of up to 350 million euro, was negotiated in the summer of 2023 and required subsequent approval from antitrust regulators in the countries concerned, as well as from the European Commission. It is also the first acquisition of assets under the European Union's new Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which aims to strengthen control over foreign investment flows into the EU, particularly those involving state-subsidized businesses.
