The International Arbitration Court in Paris has ruled against the Bulgarian state in a dispute with Viva Ventures over the ownership of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), now known under its brand name Vivacom.
Novinite reports that that the court said Viva Ventures had abided by its commitments to the telco’s workforce, as had been envisaged in the contract for its sale.
The Bulgarian state has lodged a total of three lawsuits against Viva Ventures, a subsidiary of the London-based private equity fund Advent International, which acquired a 65% stake in the incumbent telco in 2004.
Under the terms of the deal, Viva Ventures paid €230 million plus a further €50 million for a mobile operator licence.
However, it apparently failed to pay required fees to Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence and for selling on the company.
In this instance, the Bulgarian state was seeking to obtain BGN60 million (€30.7 million) in damages from Viva Ventures.
Vivacom has undergone several ownership changes in the last few years and a deal under which it was about to be acquired by Turkey’s Turkcell fell through at the last minute earlier this year.
