United Group, the Southeastern European telco majority-owned by BC Partners, has reached an agreement to sell SBB doo Belgrade, a pay-TV, broadband and fixed telephone services provider in Serbia, to e& PPF Telecom. United Group has also agreed to sell Eon TV International (the holding company of the NetTV Plus business) and its sports broadcasting rights for the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) to Telekom Srbija (TS).These transactions have a combined Enterprise Value of €1.5 billion.United Group will continue to own and operate its key media outlets in Serbia, including N1 and Nova S. These channels will remain available on SBB’s fixed network and will also be offered to Yettel customers.The transactions are subject to customary regulatory approvals and are expected to be completed during H1 2025.In addition, as previously announced on January 13th, United Group has signed a non-binding agreement with BH Telekom (BHT) in relation to a potential sale of Telemach BH d.o.o. Sarajevo and Telemach Crna Gora d.o.o. Podgorica.Following the completion of the transactions with e& PPF Telecom, TS and BHT, United Group says it will have completed its strategic objective of exiting and successfully monetising its non-EU telco assets. No other of United Group’s assets are planned to be divested in the near-term, it advised.Victoriya Boklag, United Group’s CEO, commented: “Our Group was built on the foundation of SBB almost 24 years ago and grew into the largest telco and media company in our region. Since its inception, United Group has expanded rapidly across Southeastern Europe through successful completion of over 100 M&A transactions and has significantly strengthened its EU positioning since its first EU foray into the Slovenian market in 2009. Our expansion into fully converged and affluent EU markets of Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia has further solidified this position. Today’s divestments are in line with our strategy to sharpen our focus on the markets where we can provide the full spectrum of mobile and fixed telecommunication services to our customers, which will enable us to realise the greatest potential for growth and value creation. By streamlining our operations and refocusing on EU markets, we are enhancing our efficiency and positioning United Group for long-term success.”In regards to the Eon TV International acquisition, Vladimir Lučić, CEO of Telekom Srbija, added: “Telekom Srbija, as the leading Western Balkans telecom group, is happy to strengthen its offering of direct to home services in Serbia and North Macedonia and its internet TV (IPTV/OTT) offer to the ex-Yugoslav diaspora around the world. We are also reinforcing the variety of sports content accessible to an even larger audience in the Western Balkans. From now on, our subscribers will be able to watch and enjoy both Arena Sport and Sport klub channels.”
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