December 8 (SeeNews) - Croatian telco Vipnet, a unit of Telekom Austria Group, has signed a deal to purchase a controlling stake in local alternative telecommunications operator Metronet Telekomunikacije, Metronet said on Thursday.
The transfer of shares from the seller to the buyer is conditioned on the fulfilment of the terms stipulated in the sales and purchase agreement, as well as the approval of the Croatian competition authority, Metronet said in a Zagreb bourse filing.
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The parties to the deal expect the sale process to be finished by the end of the first quarter of next year.
According to bourse data, Metronet's largest shareholders are brokerage HITA with a 39.25% share, Addiko Bank, former Hypo Bank, with 24.05%, and Zagreb-based insurer Croatia Osiguranje with 10.54%.
Metronet, founded in 2005, said in September last year it would start seeking an advisor for a possible sale of equity.
In 2014, Metronet successfully completed a pre-bankruptcy settlement procedure, obliging to list its shares on the Zagreb Stock Exchange.