DEAL THAT SHOOK THE REGION: Telekom Srbija bought SBB, these are the details of the sale!

United Group announced that it has reached an agreement on the sale of SBB to the “e& PPF Telecom” group. It was also announced that United Group sold the Net TV Plus platform and the rights to Sport Club sports broadcasts to Telekom Srbija.

In the statement of the “United Group”, it is stated that an agreement has been reached on the sale of SBB, which deals with the distribution of cable television, to the “e& PPF Telecom” group.

It was also announced that the Net TV Plus platform, as well as the rights to sports broadcasts for the Western Balkans, which were broadcast on Sport Club channels, were sold to Telekom Srbija.

“United Group will continue to own and manage its key media houses in Serbia, including N1 and Nova. These channels will remain available on the SBB fixed network, and will also be offered to Yettel users,” the statement said.

Within the “United Group”, the production houses “Grand” and “IDJ” will continue to operate, they add from the group, stating that there are no negotiations or plans to sell any media house from the “United Group”.

“The only change in the company’s portfolio, caused by the loss of exclusive rights for the biggest sports competitions, refers to the Sport Club Serbia sports channel. The existing rights to Sport Club sports broadcasts will in the future pass to the Arena Group. This move was imposed as the only sustainable business solution due to the inability to provide television broadcasts of elite sports championships to the public in Serbia,” they state in “United Group”.

They add that the Sport Club web portal will continue to operate, and that the journalists of that channel will prepare sports content for the “United Media” channels.

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Telekom Srbija: Transactions are in line with the strategy to build a leading telecommunications company in the Western Balkans

The Telekom Srbija Group has reached an agreement on the purchase of 100 percent of the shares in Eon TV International Ltd (the holding company of Net TV Plus), the direct-to-home (DTH) business within “EoNSat” and “Total TV” in Serbia and North Macedonia, as well as the purchase of certain rights, licenses and other assets related to Sport Club channels for the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia), directly or indirectly, from United Group B.V. (“United Group”) for a fee of 652 million euros without cash and without debt, the statement said.

This acquisition is expected to create broad synergy, increase revenues and reduce costs.

These transactions are in line with Telekom Srbija’s strategy to build a leading telecommunications company in the Western Balkans, with revenues reaching three billion euros by 2030.

After the successful premiere issue of euro bonds in 2024, in the amount of 900 million US dollars, today’s purchase of United Group’s assets will further strengthen Telekom Srbija’s positions in the region and among the diaspora of the former Yugoslavia, the statement points out.

These transactions are not expected to increase Telekom Srbija’s current debt levels.

The closing of the transactions is subject to the usual regulatory approvals and is expected to be realized during the first half of 2025.

“Telekom Srbija, as the leading telecommunications group in the Western Balkans, is looking forward to the opportunity to strengthen its offer of DTH services and internet TV (IPTV/OTT) for the diaspora market of the former Yugoslavia. We are also increasing the diversity of sports content that will be available to an even wider audience in the Western Balkans. From now on, our subscribers will be able to watch and enjoy channels of both Arena Sport and Sport Club,” said the general director of Telekom Srbija, Vladimir Lučić.

Lazard was the financial advisor of Telekom Srbija, while Clifford Chance LLP and the law office Gecić Law were the legal advisors of Telekom Srbija, and the company Kirkland & Ellis LLP was the legal advisor of United Group, the statement added.

e& PPF Telecom: We are sure that the users of Jetel and SBB will benefit

The “e& PPF Telecom” group announced that it has signed a binding contract with the “United Group” on the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares in SBB d.o.o. for the amount of 825 million euros.

SBB is the leading provider of cable television and broadband internet in Serbia with more than 700,000 active users, the “e& PPF Telecom” statement said.

According to the terms of the contract, “e& PPF Telecom” will take over the entire business and user base of SBB, and then separate SBB’s direct satellite services, which will be sold to Telekom Srbija.

“United Group” will retain its media assets, including television channels N1 and Nova S, which will continue to be broadcast via SBB. The transaction will also not affect SBB’s existing retail TV offer.

“This agreement allows us to complement the existing services we offer to our Jetel (Yettel) users in Serbia, as well as to enrich the offer for SBB subscribers. I am also sure that the users of Jetel and SBB will benefit from the synergies that this business will bring,” said Baleš Šarma, executive director of the “e& PPF Telecom” group.