Romanian cableco RCS&RDS bids for Hungary’s HTCC

Romanian Cable Systems (RCS&RDS), one of the largest telecom operators in Romania, has launched a takeover bid for Hungary’s second largest fixed line operator Hungarian Telephone and Cable Corp (HTCC), which trades under the banner Invitel. RCS&RDS joins a three-way fight for the 64.6% stake in HTCC being put up for sale by its current owner TDC of Denmark. According to local online news portal zf.ro, the other two groups vying for the shares are Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor and the investment fund Mid Europa Partners. The sale of HTCC is being led by the investment bank BNP Paribas and the winner is expected to be announced by the end of this month. The transaction could exceed EUR800 million (USD1.15 billion) for the firm which has more than 1.1 million customers and offers fixed telephony, internet and data services, and which also has a presence in Romania through Euroweb. RCS&RDS is already present in Hungary, where it provides TV, voice and data services.