December 29 (SeeNews) - Dutch-based telecommunications and media company United Group said that its acquisition of Bulgarian multi-platform media company Nova Broadcasting Group is expected to close early next year.
United Group reached an agreement to acquire Nova from Bulgaria's Advance Media Group after the transaction receives all the necessary regulatory approvals, the Amsterdam-headquartered group announced in a statement last week.
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The value of the deal was not disclosed.
The acquisition is in line with the overall strategy of United Group to own both telecom and media assets in the markets it serves, Victoriya Boklag, CEO of United Group, said in the statement.
Earlier this month, Bulgaria's competition authority said that United Media, part of United Group, is seeking approval to acquire Nova.
Advance Media Group acquired 100% of Bulgaria's Nova Broadcasting Group in 2019. The company acquired 95% interest from Swedish entertainment company Modern Times Group (MTG) in an all cash deal, which values 100% of Nova Broadcasting Group at 185 million euro ($226.5 million). The remaining 5% were acquired from Luxembourg-registered Eastern European Media Holdings.
Advance Media Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sofia-based Advance Properties, which in turn is jointly owned by Bulgarian investors Kiril Domuschiev and Georgi Domuschiev.
Earlier this year, United Group completed the acquisition of Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), which operates under the Vivacom brand, for an undisclosed price.
United Group combines the leading operators and content producers in Southeast Europe. The company has approximately 10 million users and 11,000 employees, according to United Group's statement.
Nova Broadcasting Group comprises ten TV channels including national NOVA TV, the country’s largest online platform Net Info that reach on average 80% of the Bulgarian population every month as well as four radio stations, United Group said.
($ = 0.816783 euro)