4iG has signed a preliminary agreement with Antenna Hungária (AH) and Portuguese Telecommunication Investments (PTI) as a company indirectly managed by Alpac Capital to buy 75% of Hungaro DigiTel (HDT).
Under the terms of the agreement between the parties, AH will sell 25% of the shares to 4iG, after the necessary procedures have been completed, and PTI 50% of the shares. HDT is Hungary’s leading and one of the main satellite telecommunications companies in the region, providing VSAT and satellite broadcasting services to customers through its own terrestrial transmitting station.
Commenting on the transaction, Gellért Jászai, president and CEO of 4iG, said: “Following the establishment of CarpathiaSat, the acquisition of HDT is an important step in raising our existing partnership with AH to a strategic level, with the aim of jointly developing the domestic and international telecommunications market in addition to developing digital satellite technologies. HDT will be our joint industry company in this endeavour and in the realisation of our further expansion ideas.
“Our collaboration with Alpac Capital is critical to 4iG’s growth strategy. As an institutional investor, we can also integrate the group’s expertise and international experience into our company, which will provide additional support for our regional market entry efforts”.
Zsolt Sárecz, president and CEO of Antenna Hungária, added: “In our partnership with CarpathiaSat, the model of cooperation between market and state-owned companies is being successfully implemented. Based on the positive experience, we would like to step up and jointly strengthen our market position in the telecommunications market. In addition to HDT becoming a common platform for our expansion in the telecommunications field, the capabilities acquired by HDT in the satellite area after the transaction will be more effective in the implementation of the Hungarian satellite development”.
Pedro Vargas David, CEO of Alpac Capital, said: “As a fund manager, Alpac Capital SA aims to create value for our investors. To this end, we aim to continue to provide an optimal source of capital for medium-sized European companies. Our acquisition of 4iG is an excellent opportunity to effectively support 4iG’s management in implementing its expansion plans for the Central European IT and telecommunications market”.
Broadband TV News notes that no financial details of the transaction, which requires the approval of the Hungarian Competition Authority, have been disclosed.