German telco Deutsche Telekom has closed its acquisition of GTS Central Europe on May 30, 2014, marking the first step in bringing the two organisations together.
Danny Bottoms, GTS CEO prior to the takeover, will continue leading company in the future. The full operational integration is expected to be completed in October 2014 while legal unity is planned for January 1, 2015.
“With the acquisition complete, we look forward to integrating GTS’ business-to-business expertise with our industry-leading technologies and vast European network to become the provider of choice for business customers,” said Claudia Nemat, board member Europe and technology at Deutsche Telekom.
“The GTS acquisition supports the implementation of our strategy to strengthen and further develop our B2B local and pan-European business including international wholesale customers,” added Nemat. “Most importantly, we want to preserve GTS’ know-how and combine its business approach with the core strengths of Deutsche Telekom.”
The European Commission approved the acquisition in April 2014 without conditions.
GTS is one of the main infrastructure-based telecommunications service providers in Central and Eastern Europe including a large portfolio of services focused on business customers. The company which achieved a turnover of €337 million in 2013 operates fibre-optic networks in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
