Telekom Austria has agreed to buy 100% of the shares in the Belarusian operators Atlant Telecom and its subsidiary TeleSet.
The sellers are the private equity firm ZUBR Capital, as well as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Atlant Telecom and TeleSet are the leading privately owned fixed-line operators in Belarus, providing fixed-line broadband, IPTV and cable TV, as well as a video and audio library. As of the end of 2015 they had approximately 125,700 fixed broadband and 46,000 cable TV customers. In the previous year, Atlant Telecom and TeleSet had revenues and an EBITDA of around €16 million and €4 million respectively.
Commenting on the development, Alejandro Plater, CEO & COO Telekom Austria Group, said: “The acquisition of Atlant Telecom is a further step in Telekom Austria Group’s convergence strategy. It allows Telekom Austria Group to develop its Belarusian subsidiary velcom from a mobile-only player into a fully converged operator”.
Telekom Austria says it will finance the transaction via existing cash flow, with the deal expected to close in the next days.
It has not disclosed the fee it will pay for the two operators.