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Weekly Lists
February 9, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 28
bne:TMT
Kellner reportedly bids
for Telenor’s Balkan assets
Petr Kellner, Central Europe’s richest man, is reportedly the bidder for the assets of Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor in Hungary, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia.
In January, Telenor confirmed rumours that it has received an unsolicited offer for its business in Central and Eastern Europe and said that will decide on the possible sale in Q1. The deal is reportedly worth €2bn.
Kellner’s investment group PPF is in talks with Telenor, Bulgarian news outlet Capital reported on February 7, quoting three unnamed sources close to the deal. It is still unclear whether Telenor will sell its assets in Hungary.
Telenor's mobile operations in the four countries, Hungary, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia, contributed 9% of the group’ revenue and 8% of Ebitda in 2017. In terms of revenue, the Hungarian unit was the largest with NOK4.3bn (€450mn), followed by Serbia and Montenegro NOK3.7bn (€387mn), and Bulgaria NOK3.12bn (€312mn).
The company has some 10mn customers in the four markets –
3.4 mn in Bulgaria, 3.3mn in Serbia and Montenegro, and 3.1mn
in Hungary – or 5.5% of its total base, but the company has
lost around 1mn subscribers in the last three years, Hungarian business portal Portfolio.hu writes. The divestment of the assets would fit with Telenor’s fundraising and cost-cutting strategy as the company is planning to refocus the business and pursue its digital transformation strategy.
Kazakhstan’s largest telecommunications operator, Kazakhtele- com, has valued its bid to buy Swedish telecoms company Telia’s 75% stake in London-listed mobile operator Kcell at around $600mn, Reuters reported on February 5, citing two sources familiar with the talks.
Kazakhstan’s antitrust committee revealed that Kazakhtelecom applied to buy the stake in January. The stake belongs to Nordic telecom operator Telia Company, which plans to sell its assets in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Moldova, and Fintur, a joint venture between Telia and Turkcell.
Kazakhtelecom bids $600mn for Telia’s Kcell stake