The battle for the acquisition of United Group is intensifying, with the Arabs of Saudi Telecom and Etisalat claiming the group, but not as hotly as before. The new entry in the United acquisition race is Dragan Solak. The former head of United Group seems to have the edge, overturning the status quo of a month and a half ago. When the Arabs were certainly looking like favorites. 

BACKING DOWN

According to BnB Daily, two thorns in the Arabs' acquisition of the company are reportedly in play. First, the high valuation, as they believe a potential deal is expensive. Second, the bureaucracy in Brussels. The European Union sets strict rules for acquiring telecom providers from third parties outside the West. The combination of these two elements, barring the unlikely event, are the reasons for the Arabs' withdrawal, but not to the exclusion of a deal.

VALUATION AND NOVA

The same sources say that United Group would be happy with a price of €8 billion for the whole group, while a strong asset is the Greek Nova, valued at €2 billion. BC Partners' aim is to have a deal in place by the end of the year, with telecoms industry players pointing out, however, that Nova's valuation is between €1 billion and €1.5 billion.

GROWTH

Noval closed 2024 with revenue growth of 8.5% and EBITDA at +5.6%. At the same time, it is running investments to increase its fiber network, as it has the second largest after OTE. By the end of 2024, 540,000 households and businesses were connected. Meanwhile, Nova in 2024 saw the largest expansion in its mobile network in almost 10 years, reaching 95% coverage in 5G.