© Nadezhda Chipeva, Capital
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Former major shareholder in Vivacom Spas Rusev acquires Bulsatcom. He is buying the largest TV provider in Bulgaria through the company Viva Corporate Bulgaria, the investor company said, writing that the deal has been successfully finalized, but did not specify whether the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) she approved it.
The details of the deal remain confidential at the moment. According to Capital Rusev submitted the highest bid – over 120-130m euros, and there was another candidate on the final right – the owner of Telenor Bulgaria PPF Group. Both offers were close in value, and the winner was chosen because of the conditions to pay the amount quickly.
“We will continue to concentrate Bulsatcom’s efforts in developing key products and services – pay TV, diverse content and fixed internet with excellent quality at affordable prices,” Rusev was quoted as saying by Viva Corporation Bulgaria.
Bulstacom is the largest TV provider in the country with about 650,000 subscribers to this service and another 170,000 on fixed internet. About 1,300 employees work for the company. For 2020, the company reports revenues of BGN 163 million compared to BGN 193 million a year earlier with a loss of BGN 22.6 million (BGN 131 million in 2019). The short-term debts to financial enterprises (banks and funds) are BGN 152 million, and together with the liabilities to suppliers, the National Revenue Agency and others the total liability is BGN 247 million.
Again, according to Capital, the market expects that soon Rusev may sell the newly acquired operator BTC, which is third on the TV market after Bulsatcom and A1 Bulgaria.
This year, the largest telecom by revenue – BTC, is in a series of acquisitions of regional TV and Internet providers. First Sofia’s Net 1 and ComNet were bought, then Plovdiv’s N3, and finally Ruse’s Networks, adding more than 100,000 new TV subscribers.
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