BC Partners-owned Balkan telecoms and media company United Group is in talks to acquire Bulgaria’s Vivacom, according to Reuters citing two sources familiar with the matter. The operator was put up for sale in July by Vivacom’s main shareholder Bulgarian businessman Spas Roussev and the London arm of Russian bank VTB, which together control the company. United Group’s offer was near Vivacom’s enterprise value of over EUR 1.2 billion, the sources said. The Bulgarian company has a debt of EUR 0.6 billion.
The deal comes after United Group acquired Tele2 Croatia in May for EUR 220 million to expand its presence in south-eastern Europe.
United Group, BC Partners and Vivacom declined to comment.
In March, BC Partners completed the acquisition of a majority stake in United Group from KKR.
An earlier report by The Financial Times said United Group and Providence Equity Partners launched indicative bids for Vivacom. United Group has bid EUR 1.1 billion, while Providence has offered EUR 1.05 billion.
