Telenor is preparing to sell its Bulgarian operation, and possibly also its assets in Serbia, Montenegro and Hungary, to a US fund.
Quoting a report by Mergermarket that cites three unnamed sources, Capital says that the deal could be worth up to €2 billion.
It adds that it has confirmed from a single source that a prospective buyer was selected on an exclusive basis in December.
Although KKR has been spoken of as that buyer due to the fact it already owns a satellite TV operation in the region, Capital says this has been denied by a Norwegian source.
Capital notes that a sale would mark a major turnaround for Telenor, which expanded its presence in Bulgaria in 2013 through the acquisition of Globul, the country’s second largest mobile operator, in a deal worth €717 million.
Although it has since increased its market share and introduced 4G services, the company, unlike its main competitors BTC (Vivacom) and Mobiltel, still does not include fixed-line (broadband and TV) in its offer.
