CEO: Providence to develop Baltic business via Bitė Lietuva
Providence Equity Partners will carry out development plans in the Baltics via its Lithuanian telecom holding Bitė Lietuva, which will take over the business the global private equity firm is buying from Swedish media group Modern Times Group (MTG).
Bitė Lietuva CEO Pranas Kuisys told BNS that Bitė Lietuva would acquire not only the Lithuanian television group TV3 but also the MTG-owned TV businesses in Latvia and Estonia as well as Viasat, an Estonian company providing digital satellite pay TV services in the Baltic countries.
"Yes, Lithuania has been chosen as the acquisition and development platform in buying MTG's businesses as well as other businesses that may be acquired and developed in the future," Kuisys told BNS. "The development of new businesses — not necessarily acquired ones — is also being considered. They will be also based on Bitė Lietuva as a platform."
According to the CEO, there are no decisions on new business acquisitions, at least for now.
Bitė Lietuva has sought regulatory approval to buy 100 percent of shares in the Lithuanian companies TV3 and Tele-3 Radijas as well as the Estonian company Viasat. According to the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania, the deal would also give Bitė Lietuva indirect control of Smart AD Network, a company owned by TV3.
Kuisys said that similar requests were submitted to the Latvian and Estonian competition authorities at the beginning of May.
MTG announced in March the sale of its Baltic business to Providence Equity Partners in a €115 million deal that is expected to be completed in early summer, once regulatory approval is obtained in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS