The Macedonian Competition Authority has approved the merger of the Telekom Austria Macedonian subsidiary Vip Operator and Telekom Slovenije’s Macedonian subsidiary One.
The approval is based on certain commitments, such as MVNO access offered by the merged entity to interested parties, and the deal is expected to close in Q4 this year.
Telekom Austria announced on October 22, 2014 that it had agreed with Telekom Slovenije to merge their subsidiaries Vip Operator and One. It will hold a 55% stake in the new entity and have sole control, while Telekom Slovenije will hold 45%.
The agreement also includes call and put options for the exit of Telekom Slovenije from the joint venture within three years of the closing of the merger.
One is the third largest mobile network operator in the Republic of Macedonia with a mobile market share of 25.4% and around 715,000 customers as of the end of 2014.
It had revenues and EBITDA of approximately €75.7 million and €10.6 million respectively last year.
