Romania’s cable industry could be about to enter a period of consolidation, with AIG-backed Digital Cable Systems (DCS) playing a key role.
In a wide-ranging interview in ZF, Dinu Malacopol, the head of what is the country’s third largest operator, said that it plans to grow organically by taking over companies in rural and small urban areas.
As of the end of last year there were 519 cable operators in Romania. While RCS/RDS and UPC, the two largest ones, had a combined total of around 2.5 million subscribers, the 500 smallest, located chiefly outside main population centres, had around 700,000 between them.
Malacopol added that DCS, which operates under the brand name Akta and also has a DTH platform, is only interested in acquiring cable operators with which it has synergies.
As a result, it is unlikely to enter into any agreements in the Northern Moldavia and Dobrogea parts of the country.
