The Russian cable operator ER Telecom has agreed to extend exclusive talks to buy the Moscow-based cableco Akado until the middle of October.
Quoting an unnamed source, Kommersant reports that the move was made largely on the initiative of ER Telecom, though Akado’s shareholders are also in favour of a period of reflection.
Akado has been on the market for some time and as recently as this summer was attracting the interest of MTS. Akado ended the second quarter with 1,110,000 pay-TV subscribers, or 1% more than when it started the year.
ER Telecom, on the other hand, grew its pay-TV subscriber base by 23% to 2.469 million over the same period.
Securing Akado, which is currently backed by Renova, would be a major boost for ER Telecom, giving its access to the lucrative Moscow market. Akado is understood to be currently valued at around $1-1.1 billion (€749-823 million).
