Abu Dhabi: UAE telecommunications giant e& Group has said a European Commission (EU) investigation of PPF Telecom’s assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia is a ‘procedural step’. Moreover, the telco giant said it remains fully committed to the transaction and plans to close it before year-end.
Under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the EU’s competition regulators, the investigation follows e&’s offer last year to acquire Czech company PPF Telecom for $2.4 billion.
The EU probe comes amid concerns that the deal infringes the bloc’s new foreign-subsidy rules. On August 1 last year, e& signed a binding agreement with PPF Group to acquire a 50 per cent +1 share economic stake in both the service and infrastructure companies of PPF Telecom’s assets, subject to regulatory approvals.
According to a statement from e& on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), “The European Commission’s decision to open an in-depth investigation is a procedural step, which does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. e& remains fully committed to the transaction with a view to closing it before year-end.”
The statement said, “e& continues to be in constructive discussions with the European Commission and is working cooperatively towards a conclusion of the authority’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation Review.”
It also said, “Should there be any developments on this subject, we will keep the market updated in due course.”
Last year, e& signed a binding agreement to acquire a controlling stake in PPF Telecoms’ companies in four European countries. This move is part of e&’s strategy to expand globally by entering new markets.
PPF Telecom, owned by the Kellner family, includes Yettel Bulgaria, Yettel Hungary, Yettel Serbia, O2 Slovakia, and the infrastructure businesses CETIN and O2 Networks.
This deal marks e&’s second major investment in Europe following its stake in Vodafone. Since investing in Vodafone in May 2022, e& has increased its stake and deepened its partnership with the UK company in May 2023.
