2021 has been a year like no other for BC-Partners-owned United Group.
Its position as the leading telecoms and media provider in South-East Europe was strengthened first and foremost by several important acquisitions. In Bulgaria, for instance, it received regulatory approval to buy Nova, one of the country’s two main broadcasting groups, in January and the following month agreed to buy the operators Net1 and ComNet Sofia. More recently, it also bought the TV and internet provider Networks-Bulgaria and only a few days ago was reported to be close to acquiring a majority stake in the technology company Telelink Business Services Group.
Meanwhile in Greece, which United Group entered in late 2020 through the acquisition of Nova, previously known as Forthnet, the company signed an agreement in August to buy the telco Wind Hellas. The transaction, for an undisclosed fee, is expected to be completed sometime next year.
In Croatia, where United Group already owns Telemach Hrvatska, it reached an agreement with the incumbent and Zagrebacka Banka in July to acquire a majority stake in the telco Optima Telekom.
And earlier this week, United Group also decided, along with Viasat World, to invest in the performance arts streaming service Marquee TV.
Alongside these have come several important agreements and launches. The former included deals with Nokia and the global music streaming and entertainment platform Tidal and latter the introduction of its Eon platform in Greece.
On the strategic front, United Group decided to merge its operations in Slovenia and Croatia. It also continued to invest, with two upcoming projects being the construction of fibre-optic networks in Croatia and Greece.
Although United Group still remains embroiled in a long-running dispute with Telekom Srbija, it can look back on this year with a good deal of satisfaction. 2022 could well be just as eventful, especially in terms of M&As.
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