Accelerates the growth of United Group and strengthens it as the region’s leading telecoms and media business.
United Group, South Eastern Europe’s leading telecoms and media business, has agreed to acquire Tele2 Croatia for an enterprise value of EUR 220m. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2019 and is subject to regulatory approvals.
This marks the first transaction since international investment firm BC Partners’ March 2019 acquisition of United Group: one of the largest ever transactions in South Eastern Europe. The acquisition of Tele2 will accelerate United Group’s growth and cement its position as the industry leader in the region.
Victoriya Boklag, CEO of United Group, said, “Croatia is an attractive and important market for us and we’re pleased to have acquired Tele2 Croatia, which will enable us to diversify the Group further, both into EU member countries and by strengthening the telecoms services we provide. We have a great track record in acquiring and integrating mobile businesses in the region, as we did with Tušmobil in Slovenia, and we are excited about the new opportunities we see with Tele2 Croatia.”
Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner at BC Partners commented, “When we invested in United Group, we identified its business model, technology and regional leadership as key drivers for organic growth, accelerated by acquiring and integrating local companies. With Tele2 Croatia, we’re pleased to have acquired a dynamic domestic mobile player with an established customer base that enables us to expand the services we deliver and our geographic reach across Europe.”
Headquartered in Amsterdam, United Group is the leading independent telecoms and media provider across South Eastern Europe. Through significant investments in digital infrastructure, content and proprietary technology, it provides market-leading services to its customers across the region. Over the past 18 years the Group has expanded its presence through both organic growth and acquisitions, now employing over 4,400 staff and providing services to over 1.8 million homes.