GTS continues march forward
Capacity, January 10, 2006
GTS Central Europe has made another move to further establish itself as a major player in Eastern Europe in a deal that sees continuing consolidation in the Czech telecoms market. Capping an aggressive year of acquisitions, GTS CE is buying 100% of the shares of TDC's Czech subsidiary Contactel.
The acquisition is part of a long-term strategy that sees GTS CE focusing on the business sector. Tamas Polgar, CEO at GTS Central Holdings, said: "We made the acquisition to increase our market share. In addition, we wanted to strengthen our position in LLU. By these acquisitions we can fasten up our local loop unbundling, which is an extra benefit." Contactel has focussed its business primarily on small and medium-sized companies. In early December, GTS CE also acquired Telenor and Nextra subsidiaries in the Czech and Slovak Republics. It also bought Quadia, a service provider in the Slovak capital Bratislava. GTS CE expected revenues of about E300 million in 2005.
Vladimir Hendrych, regional director CE at Interoute said, "It is fair to say GTS strengthened its position in Central and Eastern Europe by making this acquisition. It has also extended its network and gained customers."
