EU Clears Telco BTC Acquisition
The European Union's executive body said it gave the green light to Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank and Russian lender VTB Capital to acquire Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC).
The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure, the European Commission said in a statement published on its website on Monday.
At the beginning of October, BTC' shareholders approved a debt restructuring plan, paving the way for the group's takeover by Corpbank and VTB Capital from NEF Telecom Bulgaria.
In August BTC said its creditors had signed an agreement on the basic terms of the sale of a 93.99% stake in the company to Corpbank and VTB Capital. A month earlier the telco said it had received an offer for 130 million euro ($170 million) in exchange for a majority stake in the company from two unnamed financial investors.
BTC offers fixed-line and mobile voice, Internet access and digital TV services under the Vivacom brand.