OTE Group, which owns the Romanian operator, signalled its intention to sell the opco in 2023
Digi Communications has stated in a filing that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vodafone Romania with the intention of them acquiring some parts of Telekom Romania. OTE Group, the largest tech company in Greece, owns Telekom Romania and is itself owned by Deutsche Telekom which has a 53.45% stake and the Greek State with 7.75%.
It is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.
Under the MoU’s terms, Digi Communications and the Vodafone unit will undertake “a series of independent operations and transactions” to that end. If the deal goes ahead, Vodafone will “indirectly” buy OTE’s shares in the Romanian operator.
Achilleas Kanaris, CEO of Vodafone Romania, was quoted on the Romanian website Business Review saying, ”This is an important moment for the Romanian telecommunications market – and when completed, this transaction would contribute to it growing even stronger. Since I took over as CEO of Vodafone Romania, I have always stated that the market needs consolidation to ensure the needed investment intensity and innovation for Romania to lead in the 5G era.
“I am excited about today’s announcement, which is another statement that Vodafone is committed to Romania and will continue investing and providing world class services for Romanians.”
Early days, no definite deal
In a filing to the London Stock Exchange, Vodafone said it and Digi Communications agreed to buy elements of Telekom Romania that could be “a significant proportion” of the assets. No financial details have been disclosed: Vodafone stressed discussions are at an early stage.
OTE sold its controlling stake in Telekom Romania’s fixed arm to Orange Romania in 2021, and Orange has gone on to consolidate its position in the fixed market. OTE then announced its intention to divest itself of the rest of Telekom Romania in 2023. In May, OTE said it had agreed in principle to sell its Romanian assets to an investment vehicle in which Digi Communications is the majority stakeholder.
A long goodbye
Last week TelcoTitans reported that OTE Group had suffered “another setback” in its planned exit from the Romanian market. The report stated, “In a stock exchange filing, the Greek operator said it had received €33.5m in additional tax charges, relating to historical ‘VAT and corporate income miscalculations’, from Romania’s Agenţia Naţională de Administrare Fiscală (National Agency for Fiscal Administration/ANAF).
Although OTE intends to contest the ANAF’s claim, but noted that in the meantime, the amount owed “will be further increased due to penalties, interest, and surcharges”.