GTS Central Europe Expanding Operations with Acquisition of Romanian Telecom Operator, Datek
Bucharest, June 9, 2010
GTS Central Europe (GTS), a leading telecommunications operator in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), announced the completion of a contract signed in December last year for the acquisition of Datek, an established and significant player in the Romanian telecommunications market. Datek’s strong corporate and carrier data customer base and strong presence in the financial and public sectors are complementary to GTS’s Romanian operations. GTS will add Datek into its existing Romanian operations, creating a combined business with total annual revenues exceeding €25 million. The acquisition will strengthen the GTS footprint not only in Romania, but also in the CEE region.
“GTS has played and will continue to play a leading role in the consolidation of alternative, infrastructure-based telecommunications operators in the CEE. For us, the Datek acquisition is another step to solidify our position in the region, which translates into increased efficiency and improved service to our customers,” said Adam Sawicki, Group CEO at GTS. “Datek brings to GTS significant network and operations benefits, including over 400 route kilometres of fibre and professional expertise in systems integration. Datek’s profile makes it a perfect fit with our long-term strategy to focus on the corporate, wholesale and public sectors.”
In addition to providing standard telecommunications services to its customers, Datek offers data transfer, infrastructure development, systems integration and serves as the main regional partner for numerous global carriers and international financial institutions. Datek‘s international, data-centric customer base is complementary to the GTS strategy, which emphasizes the sale of data and managed services to target corporate and carrier customers.
“The acquisition benefits GTS and Datek customers, both of whom soon will be able to take advantage of an expanded, unified service portfolio,” said LeonardLichi, CEO at Datek. “Meanwhile, Datek services to existing customers will be uninterrupted, and all existing agreements and contracts will remain valid.”
The acquisition of Datek is the latest step in GTS’s consolidation of the CEE telecommunications market, initiated in 2004 by the acquisition of the Czech operator Aliatel and followed a year later by the acquisition of the Polish company Energis, the Slovak operators Telenor and Nextra as well as the Czech Contactel, Telenor and Nextra. In parellel, GTS recently completed an operational reorganization, establishing seven customer-focused business units and regional functions, resulting in improved service to customers and increased efficiency, visibility and accountability across the company.
More information:
Agnieszka Chrzanowska, phone: +48 22 488 8082, mobile phone: +48 695 911 072, e-mail: agnieszka.chrzanowska@gtsce.com
About GTS
GTS Central Europe is a leading provider of integrated telecommunications services in Central and Eastern Europe. GTS owns and operates an extensive fiber optic and data center network throughout the region. In the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, the company combines its regional footprint with deep local networks to deliver a broad range of services. From basic voice and data to complex virtual private networks and managed data center services, GTS assembles the latest technology with its extensive network to provide industry-leading customer solutions. Wit a rich operating history of nearly 20 years in CEE, the company is committed to providing service excellence and value to its 30,000 government, carrier and business customers. GTS is owned by a consortium of leading international private equity firms with extensive experience in the communications and technology industries. For more information, please visit us at www.gtsce.com.
