The Polish cable market is on the verge of major consolidation, with its second largest operator Vectra set to buy third placed Multimedia Polska.
Vectra has filed a notification with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) on August 27 notifying it of its intention to become the sole owner of Multimedia Polska.
The two parties say that they have signed a term sheet setting out the conditions for Vectra’s acquisition of 100% of Multimedia Polska. They add that they are negotiating the provisions of the preliminary share purchase agreement, subject to the consent of the president of the UOKiK to carry out the concentration.
Commenting on the development, Tomasz Zuranski, president of the management board at Vectra,said: “This transaction is part of Vectra’s strategy. Increasing the scale of operations strengthens the potential for further development and increases the possibilities of further infrastructural and technological investments.
“The merged entity will benefit from significant synergies and will be able to function more effectively on the competitive Polish telecommunications market”.
The news comes barely half a year after Liberty Global’s UPC Polska, the market leader, decided to pull the plug on its proposed acquisition of Multimedia Polska.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, it was first announced in October 2016 that UPC Polska had agreed to buy Multimedia Polska in an all-cash transaction worth PLN3 billion (around $760 million).
However, this March UPC Polska decided to withdraw its offer after the UOKIK concluded that it would result in a significant restriction of competition in pay-TV and fixed-line services in 11 Polish cities.
Multimedia Polska currently lists its main shareholders as M2 Investments (51.93%) and TriMedia Holdings (46.49%).
Should the proposed deal go ahead, the combined Vectra/Multimedia Polska would become the largest cable operator in Poland.
Vectra and Multimedia Polska currently provide services to 2.6 million and 1.7 million homes respectively.
