e& completes purchase of PPF Telecom

PPF Telecom is headquartered in the Netherlands, and operates in Czechia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia (Yettel) and Slovakia (O2). The deal leaves UAE based e& in control of PPF, excluding its Czech business. 

The new joint operation, e& PPF Telecom, will operate as a standalone entity and retain its employee base, we’re told. Under the terms of the deal, Balesh Sharma, PPF Telecom CEO, and his PPF Telecom management team will retain their roles.

PPF's telco assets in the Czech Republic will remain outside of e& PPF Telecom and will be owned by PPF.

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

“I am delighted to welcome Balesh Sharma, CEO of PPF Telecom and his talented team to the e& family. Their deep understanding of the local markets will be invaluable as we move forward on this exciting new chapter.”

Jiří Šmejc, CEO, PPF, added: "I welcome e& as our partner in the telco business in CEE. Together, we have created a platform to drive value creation in fast-developing telecommunications markets. Our partnership with e& testifies 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."

The deal was announced in August last year, which at the time was valued at up to €2.5 billion. The European Commission launched an investigation into the purchase in June this year under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, based on preliminary concerns that e& may have been granted foreign subsidies that could distort the EU internal market.

However it ultimately gave the purchase the green light in September, subject to certain conditions.