The Telekom Austria subsidiary Vipnet has acquired the Digi TV satellite operation in Croatia for an undisclosed fee.
Digi TV, which has until now been owned by Romania’s RCS&RDS, began operating in Croatia in November 2006 and had revenues of around €2 million in 2012.
It continues to have a presence in five other CEE counties including Romania, its home market.
The acquisition will significantly strengthen Vipnet’s position in Croatia, where it has owned B.net, the country’s leading cable operator, since 2011.
Commenting on the deal, Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO Telekom Austria Group and A1, said: “The acquisition of Digi TV considerably strengthens our position as a convergent service provider on the Croatian communications market. I’m confident that, thanks to this new acquisition, Vipnet will now address new customer segments and generate significant customer growth as we will offer TV services both via cable and satellite.”
Mladen Pejkov, CEO of Vipnet, added: “We are delighted about the expansion of our portfolio. The acquisition of Digi TV turns Vipnet into a full player and a comprehensive communications service provider”.
The sale of Digi TV in Croatia will inevitably raise question marks about the future of its other DTH operations in the CEE region, especially outside Romania.
Vipnet, on the other hand, will find itself in a much stronger position to compete in the Croatian market with the incumbent telco Hrvatski Telekom.
