Bulgarian mobile operator Vivacom has been sold to a local businessman for a total of €730 million including debt, it emerged late last week.
Bulgarian businessman Spas Roussev won an auction for the telco with a bid of €330 million, but the final price includes an additional €400 million in debt, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
There has yet to be an official announcement on the sale. Vivacom’s owner, Russian investment bank VTB Capital, said it will name the winner once a share purchase agreement has been signed.
Roussev came out on top, beating another bidder, a partnership consisting of Greece’s Olympia Group and hedge fund Third Point.
The deal requires the approval of domestic and European Union regulators.
The sale of Vivacom, one of three mobile operators in Bulgaria, was triggered by the collapse of the country’s Corpbank last year, whose majority shareholder Tsvetan Vassilev is also part owner of the mobile operator, the newswire explained. According to Vassilev’s Website, a consortium between his Bromak Telecom Invest Company and VTB Capital holds around 80% of Vivacom.
Despite winning the auction, Roussev still faces competition for Vivacom.
According to Reuters, Russian businessman Dmitry Kosarev recently issued a statement announcing that he had acquired Vassilev’s stake in Vivacom. He now plans to challenge the results of the sale through legal channels.
