Polkomtel mobile operator sold for billions
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
01.07.2011 11:55
Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, one of Poland’s leading entrepreneurs, has bought Polkomtel, the parent company of the Plus mobile network, for a reported sum amnounting to over 18 billion zloty (4.5 billion euro).
The deal was signed and sealed on late Thursday evening, and is one of the largest telecoms transactions to have taken place in the EU since the onset of the financial crisis.
An official statement regarding the sale was released to the public after 23.00 CET on Thursday, informing the sale of 100 percent of shares in Polkomtel, which were part-owned by a handful of companies in the State Treasury’s portfolio as well as British mobile operator Vodafone.
While the transaction is worth over 18 billion zloty, the purchase is estimated by the Polish Office of Electronic Communications, a regulatory watchdog, as holding a value of 42.8 billion zloty (10.5 billion euro).
“The transaction is a massive chance for the Polish telecoms market,” said Solorz-Zak, quoted in the statement, with the entrepreneur adding that the transaction “is one of the largest ever in the history of Central and Eastern Europe.”
Solorz-Zak also underlined that the purchase was also undertaken with Polish capital.
Apart from personal funds, a consortium of banks headed by French Credit Agricole and Deutsche Bank financed the deal. (jb)
Source: PAP