Affiliates of Russian lender VTB Capital and Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank jointly acquired 93.99% of Bulgarian telecommunications group BTC from NEF Telecom Bulgaria after obtaining approval from the European Commission and other regulators, BTC said.
The deal reduces the group's total liabilities from approximately 1.7 billion euro ($2.16 billion) to 588 million euro through partial repayment, a debt-for-equity swap and a write-off of the remainder of the liabilities, BTC said in a statement filed with the Sofia bourse on Monday.
BTC's new majority owner is Sofia-based Viva Telecom Bulgaria, the statement added.
Viva Telecom Bulgaria, which was registered in the country's trade register on November 2, in turn is a subsidiary of Luxembourg-registered InterV Investment.