July 7 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday it is selling its 28% stake in Moldova’s leading cable and digital TV operator Sun Communications to Orange Moldova, which is taking ownership of the company.
The EBRD invested in Sun Communications in 2007 by providing $4 million (3.6 million euro) in equity and a $4.6 million loan to finance the company’s plans for acquisition, expansion and modernization, the bank said in a release.
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The company is currently owned by Lekert Management Ltd and Neocom Ltd, the investment vehicles controlled by Sun Communications founder Alexandru Sirbu, which has a 65% stake, by the EBRD and the senior management of the company, including John Maxemchuk, the CEO, with 5%.
The completion of the transaction remains subject to the approval of competition authorities.
The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Moldova. Since the start of its operations in Moldova, the bank has invested close to 1 billion euro in more than 100 projects in the country.
At the end of June, the Moldovan unit of France Telecom's Internet and mobile arm Orange said it signed an agreement on the acquisition of Sun Communications, adding that the transaction will allow it to enter the fixed and Pay TV services market and offer new services, particularly convergent offers and services across fixed, mobile and pay TV services.
Orange aims to reinforce its position as the leading convergent operator in Europe providing fixed broadband, fixed and mobile voice services as well as pay TV services and this acquisition is part of the strategy, it also said.
Orange Moldova is the largest mobile operator in the country with over 2.6 million customers and a 57% market share in the national telecommunication sector, data from Moldovan telecom regulator ANRCETI showed.
Sun Communications is the leading Pay TV provider in Moldova by customer base. It offers digital and cable TV services under the brand SunTV to customers in Chisinau, Balti and Cahul, ANRCETI data showed.
With over 172 channels and 25 HD channels on offer, SunTV is one of the largest providers of cable TV services with over 100,000 active customers. Sun also offers internet and Voice over IP (VOIP) services to over 38,000 customers in Moldova, offering up to 300Mbps connectivity.
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 40 billion euro in 2015 and 155,000 employees worldwide at end-March 2016.
($= 0.9012 euro)