UAE’s e& Acquires Majority Stake in PPF Telecom

PPF Group, an international investment group founded in the Czech Republic, on Thursday said that it has concluded the previously announced sale of 50% plus one share in PPF Telecom Group’s assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia, to Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (e&) for $2.33 billion.

Leveraging PPF Telecom’s expertise, the transaction results in the formation of e& PPF Telecom Group (e& PPF Telecom), a partnership between PPF and e& that seeks to build a major player in the telecommunications sector across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

The transaction consideration of $2.33 billion is in addition to a potential earn-out of up to $378.75 million. The formation of this partnership was agreed in August 2023 and completed following customary regulatory approvals.

PPF CEO Jiří Šmejc said that the two companies have created a platform to drive value creation in fast-developing telecommunications markets and their partnership with e& testify to the quality of PPF’s industry expertise and local knowledge.

In return, PPF’s telco teams will benefit from the global scale and technology know-how of e&, enabling us to meet our ambitions for further growth. It took more than a year and a half since our initial discussions to close this extremely complex transaction. The result is hugely rewarding, and I would like to thank both teams for their great work, he said.

Jiri Smejc reiterated that PPF’s telco assets in the Czech Republic will remain outside of e& PPF Telecom and will be wholly owned by PPF. This aligns with PPF’s plans to continue building synergies among its selected consumer-facing companies in the Czech Republic.

Extending e& Global Footprint                        

e& Group CEO Hatem Dowidar said that the completion of their transaction to partner with PPF Telecom is a momentous point in e&’s journey, extending the company’s telecom footprint to 20 countries and the overall footprint operations to 38 countries, across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and now Central and Eastern Europe.

“PPF Telecom’s regional expertise and e&’s global capabilities create a powerful platform for growth and innovation across these dynamic markets. We are all committed to providing enhanced value to our customers through cutting-edge digital services,” he said.

Under the terms of the partnership, Balesh Sharma, PPF Telecom CEO, and his PPF Telecom management team will retain their roles at e& PPF Telecom. This will ensure the continuity of the operations while drawing on the broad expertise of PPF Telecom’s teams in their respective markets.

Balesh Sharma said that the partnership marks an important milestone, not only in the journey of e& PPF Telecom, but for the broader telecom sector in the region. As a result of this partnership, their customers will get even better services, including access to the e& suite of products, and will benefit from better international roaming offers.

PPF Telecom’s Czech assets – O2 Czech Republic a.s. (O2 CZ) and CETIN a.s. (CETIN Czech) – are excluded from the newly formed e& PPF Telecom Group.

PPF retains its 100% indirect ownership of O2 CZ and its current ownership in CETIN Czech. In addition, a PPF-owned entity will acquire 30% of CETIN Group, the holding company for CETIN Czech, from Roanoke Investment Pte Ltd, a nominated investment vehicle of GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd.

Following the completion of the acquisition, PPF will become the sole owner of CETIN Czech.