Hungary’s 4iG group has completed the acquisition of two European operators and announced an agreement to acquire a third.
4iG closed its purchase of Digi Communications’ DIGI Hungary unit on 3rd January. As reported by CommsUpdate, the deal includes 100% of the operator, along with its subsidiaries Digi Infrastruktura, Invitel and i-TV.
The companies had previously signed a EUR625 million (US$708 million) sale and purchase agreement on 29th November 2021, with the deal subject to regulatory clearances among other conditions.
Digi Communications CEO Serghei Bulgac said: “Digi is handing over to the 4iG operator a competitive business with exceptional results, whose impact on the telecommunications market will be remembered for many years to come.”
On 21st December 2021, 4iG confirmed that it had closed its purchase of 100% of Telenor Montenegro from PPF Telecom Group after receiving the required regulatory approvals. The transaction amount was not disclosed. PPF Group acquired the unit from Telenor – along with its assets in Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia – in 2018 for US$3.3 billion.
4iG Group CEO Gellert Jaszai said: “Telenor Montenegro’s employees and management, who have built an extraordinary company in recent years, represent significant value for the 4iG Group. We consider the company a strategic investment and with our services we plan a long-term presence in Montenegro. We support the current management team of Telenor Montenegro and count on the company’s employees to continue to grow in the Montenegrin mobile telephony market, based on the company’s professional services.”
Jaszai also noted that 4iG had signed a new agreement to acquire Albanian mobile operator ONE Telecom just one month after announcing that the company would obtain a majority stake in ALBtelecom.
The CEO noted that ONE had recently upgraded its network with 632 5G-ready towers to provide 98.5% population coverage, saying: “Thanks to its renewed telecommunications network last year, ONE Telecommunications is a telecommunications provider with strong growth potential that will fit well into our Western Balkans telecommunications portfolio once the acquisition is completed.”
The size of the transaction has not been disclosed and the deal is subject to regulatory approvals – a potential hurdle, given that the Albanian market would become an effective duopoly between Vodafone Albania and 4iG if the latter gains control of both ALBtelecom and ONE.