SOFIA (Bulgaria), February 1 (SeeNews) – Irish real estate investment firm West Incorporated Group of Companies (WIGC) said on Monday it has acquired the Telephone Palace in Sofia, one of the landmark buildings in Bulgaria's capital, for over 22.5 million euro ($31.3 million).
“The world economic crisis had wide-ranging effects on our business but in the last two years we have been working hard to bring new investment into our company and to thus find the best way out of the crisis for us and especially for our clients. […]The purchase of Sofia’s Telephone Palace is a huge move in the right direction,” Brian Conneely, WIGC owner and CEO said in a statement.
The total potential investment in the project can exceed 100 million euro, WIGS also said in a statement.
The Telephone Palace, which was the first building of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), has a total built-up area of 17,401 sq. m., spread across 6 floors above ground. Located in the very heart of Bulgaria’s capital city, it is considered one of Sofia’s finest and most recognisable landmarks.
"West Incorporated will not yet disclose the future purpose of the building but the company has already employed a team of top European and Asian professionals, who in the last 6 months have been researching the possibilities to make this building a unique cultural and social centre both in Bulgaria and in Eastern Europe," the statement said
The façade and the name of the building will remain unchanged, Conneely said.
BTC, majority-owned by AIG Global Investment Group, has a 97% share on the domestic fixed-line segment while Vivatel controls some 12% of the mobile segment, according to company data. In September 2009, BTC wrapped up the merger of its fixed-line and mobile businesses under the Vivacom brand.
($ = 0.7191 euro)