BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03/10/2007

Telekom Austria buys Belarusian MDC

Vienna - Telekom Austria, the country's former state-owned telephone operator, has acquired Belarus's second largest mobile phone provider MDC for 1.05 billion euros (1.49 billion dollars), Telekom Austria said on Wednesday. The Telekom Austria Group went through with long-standing plans to enter the Belarusian market.

In a first step, the Austrian firm bought 70 per cent of MDC for a sum of 730 million euros.

For the remaining 30 per cent Telekom Austria entered into a call and put option for the fourth quarter of 2010 and is expected to pay around 230 million euros.

"The acquisition of MDC is the consistent execution of our strategy for profitable growth in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

"It offers us an entry to the attractive telecommunication market in Belarus while the terms of the transaction once again underline our disciplined approach to expansion," Telekom Austria CEO Boris Nemsic said.

The deal was clinched after negotiations with MDC's previous owner, the Cyprus-based SB Telecom Limited, held by the Syrian businessman Ead Samawi, on Wednesday morning, Telekom Austria said.

MDC has a market share of approximately 42 per cent in Belarus, with 2.7 million customers.

The acquisition is still subject to the countries' antitrust authorities.

Source:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/236245/Telekom_Austria_buys_Belarusian_MDC