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Bulgaria’s Commission for the Protection of Competition says sale of mobile operator will not impact on market.
Bulgaria’s competition watchdog has given the go-ahead for the sale of mobile operator Vivacom.
The country’s Commission for the Protection of Competition has approved a takeover deal that was agreed in November, the Sofia News Agency reported.
The commission ruled that the deal would not impact on competition in the Bulgarian market, it said.
Bulgarian businessman Spas Roussev won an auction for Vivacom in November. The telco was put up for sale after its holding company defaulted on the repayment of a loan.
The sale process was initiated by VTB Capital, which was a security agent for the loan.
According to figures shared by Reuters, Roussev won the auction with a bid of €330 million, but the inclusion of €400 million in debt takes the final price up to €730 million.
Any appeal against the watchdog’s ruling must be lodged within 14 days.
Last year Russian businessman Dmitry Kosarev insisted that he had acquired a stake in Vivacom and said he would challenge the results of the auction.
