The Russian cable operator ER Telecom has been given the go-ahead by the country’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to acquire Moscow-based Akado.
The news was given to ITAR-TASS by Dmitry Rutenberg, the head of control of transport and communication at the FAS, though he declined to provide any specifics about the deal.
However, what is known from other sources is that two weeks ago ER Telecom filed a petition with the FAS to buy Akado for $1.01 billion (€765.3 million), including debt.
This was valuing Akado at $610 million net of debt, with financing for the transaction being obtained from VTB.
Akado is one of the leading providers of pay-TV and broadband services in Moscow and has until now been majority (67%) owned by Renova.
ER Telecom, on the other hand, is one of the top two of broadband and top four leading pay-TV providers in Russia.
It currently claims a 10% share of both 10% the country’s broadband internet and cable TV markets.
