Bulgarian telecom Vivacom sold to United Group
Dutch-registered telecoms and media company United Group said on November 7 that it has agreed to buy Vivacom, one of Bulgaria’s three major telecom operators, for an undisclosed amount.
United Group, which is owned by London-based private equity firm BC Partners, currently offers pay TV, internet and telecommunications services in the six former Yugoslav republics.
Vivacom, formerly the state-owned fixed-line monopoly Bulgarian Telecommunications Company prior to its privatisation in 2004, offers broadly the same spectrum of services.
“Vivacom is a well-run company with strong management and I am excited at the opportunities we have to build an even stronger business. Bulgaria is an attractive market and this acquisition will enable us to diversify the Group further,” United Group CEO Victoriya Boklag said in a statement.
Vivacom chairperson of the board and majority shareholder Spas Roussev described the transaction as “a great success and a great opportunity for Vivacom, its clients, and more generally for Bulgaria,” adding that “Vivacom will play a big role in the future development of United Group, their leading regional telecom and media platform.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals.
This is the second major transaction involving one of Bulgaria’s mobile carriers in the past 18 months, after Norway’s Telenor sold its Central and Eastern European telecommunications business, which included Telenor Bulgaria, to Czech investment conglomerate PPF Group for 2.8 billion euro in March 2018.
(Photo: Nedko/flickr.com)
