Romanian cableco RCS&RDS has sold its Slovakian satellite TV arm in its second DTH asset sale in two months.
Slovak Telekom, the largest telecoms operator in Slovakia, said it has agreed to acquire 100% of Digi Slovakia for an undisclosed sum to…
Romanian cableco RCS&RDS has sold its Slovakian satellite TV arm in its second DTH asset sale in two months.
Slovak Telekom, the largest telecoms operator in Slovakia, said it has agreed to acquire 100% of Digi Slovakia for an undisclosed sum to strengthen its satellite TV offering.
The incumbent telco already had a presence in the local DTH market through its Magio platform, which uses the Amos-3 satellite that was launched in early 2010. CEO Miroslav Majoros said its acquisition of Digi, which requires regulatory approval, is part of a medium-term push to expand in the digital TV market.
Slovak Telekom is controlled by German telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom (DT), which has a 51% stake. The Slovak government holds a 34% share, but has recently mandated its economics ministry to negotiate with DT about selling its holding. The state last attempted to sell its shares in 2011, but suspended plans in October that year after the centre-right coalition government collapsed.
The operator said its agreement with RCS&RDS for Digi came after several months of negations.
RCS&RDS launched Digi in 2006, and it claims to have more than 270,000 customers signed up to its services, which also include cable TV and internet in ten cities.
The deal comes shortly after RCS/RDS sold its Croatian DTH platform to Telekom Austria in March, enabling the telecoms operator to make its first foray into the satellite TV sector. Telekom Austria told SatelliteFinance that it would consider acquiring satellite TV services in its other CEE markets after the move.
Meanwhile, RCS&RDS, which is indirectly controlled by businessman Zoltan Teszari, has reportedly scheduled meetings this month to discuss refinancing up to €800m of debt.
Citing an agenda for the meetings, local newspaper Ziarul Financiar reported that the funding could have a maturity of ten years or less, and could be obtained from banks, other financial institutions, Romanian or international investment funds and/or other private entities.
Cable Communications Systems Netherlands is RCS&RDS’ largest shareholder with an 88.54% stake, according to the Romanian trade register. Zoltan Teszari’s RCS Management owns nearly 60% of Cable Communications.
RCS&RDS also provides services in Spain, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic and Serbia.
