The leading Ukrainian cableco Volia has 20-30 smaller operators in its sights, according Gyorgy Zsembery, the company’s CEO.
Speaking to Forbes, he added that there are currently over 300 cable operators in Ukraine with a market share of less than 1% and the market cannot survive without growth, which will require serious investment.
In Volia’s case, it plans to grow by both expanding its network and through acquisitions.
On the other hand, while consolidation is inevitable, Volia has no intention of paying inflated prices, though it expects to close a few deals in the coming months.
Zsembery added that Volia plans to invest UAH300 million (€27.9 million) in 2013, up from the UAH200 million it has done annually for the last eight years.
He also said that Volia will aggressively pursue its goal of being in the forefront of OTT in Ukraine.
At present there are some 80 companies in the country either trying or having tried to offer IP-based (IPTV or OTT) services, though most have ben technically deficient and virtually none have shown world-class content.