Cairo (Reuters) – Czech PPF Group said on Tuesday that Emirates Telecommunications Group Company e& (EAND.AD) would pay 2.2 billion euros up front to acquire a controlling stake in its telecoms assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia.
The companies agreed that e& would also pay additional earn-out payments of up to 350 million euros within three years after the closing if PPF Telecom exceeds certain financial targets, PPF said in a statement.
“The purchase price of up to EUR 2.5 billion, including contractual earn-out payments, represents one of the largest ever deals for PPF,” PPF CEO Jiri Smejc said.
The agreement comes as PPF, controlled by the wife of billionaire founder Petr Kellner who died last year, aims to divest its once flagship consumer lending business in China and focus on acquisitions in Europe.
PPF, which has investments in financial services, telecoms, media, mechanical engineering and biotech and posted a 239 million euro profit last year, also said its Czech telecom assets were excluded from the deal.
The transaction is expected to close in or before the first quarter of 2024 and is subject to regulatory approvals. Both companies said they would retain current PPF Telecom’s CEO, Balesh Sharmaand.
