Two bidders are now seeking to gain control of Bulgarian incumbent Vivacom.
Quoting two sources familiar with the process, Reuters reports that they are the Bulgarian businessman Spas Roussev and Greece’s Olympia Group, together with the hedge fund Third Point.
The sale of Vivacom, which has had a number of owners in the last few years, was launched last month by VTB Capital, the investment banking arm of Russia’s second largest bank VTB, after an indirect holding company of Vivacom defaulted on a €150 million loan.
It will aim to make at least €180 million, including taxes and interest, from the sale, which is being organised by Ernst & Young in London.
As earlier reported in Broadband TV News, there were previously three bidders for Vivacom, though one – UPC co-founder Marc Schneider, backed by the private equity fund CVC – has since appeared to have dropped out.
