Telekom Austria’s Mobiltel acquires Bulgaria’s Blizoo

Alejandro Plater

Telekom Austria’s Bulgarian subsidiary Mobiltel has agreed to acquire the country’s leading cable operator Blizoo from private-equity group EQT.

Blizoo, the leading cable player in the market, is the country’s second-largest fixed-line operator and has an estimated 8% share in the fixed broadband market and an 11% share in the TV market. The operator has 373,000 subscribers taking a mix of TV, broadband and telephony services, with a network that reaches 1.3 million homes.

Blizoo turned in revenue of €47 million last year witih EBITDA of €19 million.

Telekom Austria Group will finance the transaction via existing cash flow. The closing is expected for Q4 2015, subject to regulatory approval.

“The acquisition of blizoo is another step to further develop our challenging Bulgarian market. We see a huge growth potential together with Mobiltel in the strongly rising fixed-line segment, which will be ultimately beneficial for our Bulgarian customers,” said Alejandro Plater, Telekom Austria’s incoming CEO.

“This move opens a broad range of exciting opportunities for Mobiltel and strengthens our fixed-line portfolio. We are looking forward to a positive decision of the authorities as the acquisition would contribute to a better market environment and higher investments in the Bulgarian economy,” said Thanasis Katsiroumpas, CEO Mobiltel Bulgaria.

“The majority of our customers take advantage of blizoo’s multi-play offering already today; but in combination with Mobiltel, we will be able to offer the full four-play service spectrum to our customer base and this also offers great opportunities for further growth,” said Harald Rösch, CEO Blizoo Bulgaria.