2024-02-20 09:42:22
A second major deal in the telecommunications business in our country was resolved within less than a month. After the Commission for Protection of Competition allowed “Vivacom” to acquire “Bulsatcom”, the regulator also gave the green light to a transaction with another key player in the telecommunications business in our country – “Yetel”.
The Czech fund PPF and Emirates Telecommunications Group Company of the UAE will jointly manage the mobile business of the group of the late billionaire Petr Kellner in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia.
The CPC has allowed this because the company from the Emirates does not own telecommunications networks in our country and has no significant business operations in the European Union, which does not threaten competition in Bulgaria. “The market position of “Yetel Bulgaria” in mobile voice telephone retail services is comparable to the other 2 mobile operators, and in fixed telephone retail services the share is lower than “Vivacom” and “A1 Bulgaria”, according to the regulator.
The deal of the Czechs with Emirates Telecommunications Group was announced last fall, when it became clear that the price was 2.5 billion euros. “I am proud of the way we have been able to increase the value of this asset since its purchase,” PPF CEO Jiri Schmeitz commented at the time.
However, the announced agreement, with the UAE company acquiring a majority stake in PPF Telecom, does not apply to BTV, which remains owned by the Czechs. Assets in the Czech Republic, including the mobile operator there O2 and the provider of telecommunications infrastructure CETIN, are also excluded from the deal with the telecoms.
According to insiders, the goal of the company from Abu Dhabi is expansion on the European market and the deal for “Yetel” is the first step in this strategy. Otherwise, the company is present in the telecommunications market of 16 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Annual revenues exceed €14 billion and profit is more than €2 billion. Emirates Telecommunications Group has also been named the third strongest telecommunications brand in the world by leading valuation consultancy Brand Finance. And the value of this brand itself is estimated at 10.5 billion dollars based on the identity that reflects the technological development, 5G connectivity; increased results, greater employee satisfaction.
PPF, whose founder Petr Kellner died in a helicopter accident in Alaska in 2021, was succeeded by his wife Reneta Kellnerova and their four children. In 2018, the company purchased the telecommunications assets of the Norwegian telecom Telenor in Bulgaria, Hungary, Montenegro and Serbia. The deal then was for 2.8 billion euros.